Naruto Gaimu
by goNxH
Summary: If only this wasn't so complicated. Every wrong step they take could cause another war. She was glad they were in this together. If he wasn't with her, she didn't know if she could go on. - Set after the events of Naruto Gokan -
1. Chapter 1

**This is the continuation of Naruto Gokan. I already apologize in advanced for my mistakes. I've read the story for about three times and this is the best I can do. If you want to help me, please go ahead.**

**I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed Naruto Gokan. It really made me want to put up the continuation asap.  
**

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**-Chapter 1-**

"You know what I will do?" Naruto grimaced for the millionth time at the hot desert air that surrounded them. "I'll ask Gaara if I can place a _Jutsushiki _somewhere and next time we just use the _Hiraishin no Jutsu_ to get to Suna."

Ever since he had mastered his father's famous jutsus after months of intense training, Naruto was busy placing seals all over the place. He was obviously determined to never use his legs again. Hinata had counted at least six _Jutsushiki _in their apartment. In the mornings he _Hiraishined_ from the bed in the kitchen to help her make breakfast and from the kitchen counter he proceeded to _Hiraishin _to his chair. In Hinata's opinion it was getting ridiculous but she understood that he was immensely proud of mastering the Jutsu, so she let him be.

"Naruto, you can't just place a _Jutsushiki _on foreign ally territory." Hinata explained carefully sidestepping a scorpion. "They will not accept it."

"Ah, but I won't use it to attack them or anything. Well, I guess they wouldn't believe me either way." Naruto sighed. "But maybe they could monitor it or place a seal on it and only enable the _Jutsushiki _when I told them I will come?"

Hinata couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. He wasn't entirely wrong, the road to Suna was exhausting and hot, having a faster way would be great. Besides if that was the case, maybe she could see her sister more often. Whether or not Suna would accept such a seal, she didn't know. After she had contemplated this for a while and then she nodded approvingly. "I do believe that could work, but only because you and Gaara are such good friends and our relationship with Suna is exceptional. But we are going to have to talk to Gaara about it."

Naruto, in his position as Hokage, had the duty to visit every other of the Great Shinobi Nations once a year. Usually his assistant would accompany him, but since Hinata had wanted to see her sister and his assistant had familial commitments, she had been allowed to take her position. As the main coordinator of Konoha's Foreign affairs she didn't need to justify herself if she visited another country.

Out of the corner of his eyes Naruto watched Hinata wipe a trickle of sweat from her brow. She really shouldn't look so good while doing something so profane. Under the merciless rays of the Suna sun her shimmering blue hair only flared up when she jumped, not a single breeze eased the heat. Absorbed in the beauty next to him Naruto almost fell flat on his nose when he avoided tripping over a dry log, but managed to find his balance before she realized it. To cover up his creepy staring at her he happily slung an arm around her and hugged her slender figure close "Awesome, that way you can visit Hanabi more often, or she can come to Konoha for just a day or something."

The red of her cheeks, caused by him and only him, made Naruto smile even more widely.

"But Naruto, using the _Hiraishin _over such a large distance takes much Chakra!" She protested, albeit weakly. She was aware of his insanely large amount of chakra but somehow she worried a lot about him shouldering too much.

"Yeah, I'm glad I have such large reserves in addition to Kurama's chakra I don't need to worry about that. And neither do you, 'Nata." He told her nonchalantly but still squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Hinata sighed; she was fighting a losing battle, In the end she let it go for now and the two of them continued their travel in silence. Soon her thoughts drifted to her sister's situation in Suna. The more time she had to think about it, the more she realized that problems just kept piling up. Lately she had been feeling overwhelmed and the last few days she had trouble sleeping.

"Why are you so tense?" Naruto had been watching her for quite some time now. For the last two weeks she had been wearing a solemn expression whenever she thought he didn't watch her. He had decided to leave it alone until she talked to him out of her own free will, but after observing the very same look on her face now, he became impatient. "I mean you seem pretty worried lately."

Biting her lip, Hinata considered telling him, despite her earlier resolve to talk to Hanabi first. She had to talk to Naruto sooner or later anyway and she really did want to talk to him about it. Worrying on her own was harder than talking to him to sort things out together. Technically it was Hanabi's and Gaara's private affairs. As the foreign affairs representative it was her duty to take care of such matters, and only then talk to the Hokage if she had sufficient proof and done a background check. However Naruto wasn't only the Hokage, he was also her boyfriend. And that was who she needed to talk to.

"Hanabi and Gaara are dating." She finally said. They had stopped under a poor excuse for a tree, that defied the immense heat and whose leafless branches casted a sparse shadow on them.

"Uh, yeah, what else is new?" Naruto shrugged and he grinned widely when he saw Hinata's surprised face. "You are not the only one able to write a letter you know? Gaara and I have a very lively correspondence. I'm really happy for the both of them."

He looked at Hinata who nodded hesitantly. "Or not?"

Her hair fell around her like a curtain hiding her eyes from him before she answered. "No, it is great they found each other."

"But?" Naruto stopped and put the strands of her tenderly behind her hair to reveal lavender tinted eyes full of fear. "You're not afraid Gaara is going to hurt her, are you? Because he changed, he is not the same person he was at the Chunin exams!"

A soft smile made her way to her lips, "No, that is not what I'm afraid off. Rather I think both of them might get hurt if we make only the slightest mistake."

"Because of the Byakugan? Don't worry 'Nata, I'll charm the village council somehow and I'm sure that Suna will be delighted to gain a bloodline limit." Of course Naruto had realized the brisance of the matter, but he was confident that Konoha would also see the advantages of such an alliance.

The Byakugan belonged to Konoha; therefore this was not only an internal Clan affair but rather a village affair. If the current relationship to Suna should one day worsen, they had lost an advantage by giving up the Byakugan. His teeth clenched, he could not allow the Byakugan to leave the village but he could also not let one of his best friends and the sister of his girlfriend suffer. So he would make this work - that was a promise.

Hinata nodded slowly and leaned closer into his embrace. "That's one of the problems."

"One? How many are there?"

"The way I oversee it? Three major problems, and one that should be smaller."

The blonde hugged her closer after he felt her distress. "You think that the Hyuga Council will forbid a relationship outside the village?"

His girlfriend nodded hesitantly. "Partly, but that's the least problematic one. After all with a mighty alliance outside Konoha the Hyuga clan itself can only gain."

"Ok, so let me see." Naruto took a step back so that he could look into her pale but deep eyes. "The internal affair between the Hyuga Clan, the village councils of Konoha and Suna,… what are the others?"

"Well, first of are the other three shinobi nations. If they realize Konoha is willing to share one of the most sought out Doujutsu with his closest ally, they may form an alliance because they think Konoha and Suna are planning something. We cannot risk this to escalate into another war."

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Shit, he didn't think the other nations had a say in this, and well they didn't but despite it they could ruin everything. Hinata was right. "Is that it? Or am I missing something else."

She was tempted to smile at his hopeful blue gaze at her. "The Clan council of Konoha might cause trouble."

"How is that going to be a problem? Most of the Clan heads are our friends and besides they have nothing to do with this." Naruto frowned.

"Strictly speaking they don't, but you don't want to cause a ruckus there and lose their back-up. As the Hokage the internal content of the Clans is an important key to your power."

"Still I don't see why they should be against this."

She took a deep breath to calm her shaking voice. "Well, you just have to look at the current Hyuga Clan. We are by far the most influential Clan in the village. I am head of the foreign affairs and thanks to my previous work as a Hyuga representative the Clan has gained friends, money and connections that exceed most of the other Clans. Then there would be the fact that I am dating the current Hokage which, they think, gives me additional influence and now my sister will date the head of another village. If…"

"If the Hyuga Clan will settle down there as well, their position in the village would be untouchable." Naruto finished for her. "And you think that despite being our friends, the Clan heads have to consider their own position and an almighty Hyuga Clan is not what they want."

Hinata agreed with a nod of her head miserably.

"You really thought over this a lot, didn't you?" He took a step closer to her, her head was bowed and again she used her hair to hide her face from him. Naruto truly disliked her doing that.

"Ever since I heard about it from Hanabi." He could barely make out what Hinata said. Her voice was hardly above a whisper.

"Why didn't you talk to me earlier?" His deep voice had gone soft and he brought his hand up to stroke her cheek and tilted her head so that her beautiful eyes, clouded with worries met his cobalt blue ones.

"I-I just did-didn't want to worry you." He frowned and she continued to explain, "If Gaara and Hanabi are not serious about taking their relationship to the next level, we don't have to worry. So I wanted to talk to her first."

"Well, I don't know about your sister, but I know Gaara. And he wouldn't be in a relationship he didn't value. It's hard enough for him to form bonds as it is." He said slowly, "But I still don't like that you kept this from me. It made you worried and if you had talked to me about it at least we could have shared that worry."

"I'm sorry, it's just that…"

"It's ok, Hinata. But please don't do this again. We can solve everything together."

She smiled up at him, his sheer presence and knowledge of the root of her melancholy eased her mind. "I promise. Thank you, Naruto." Her arms wound around his neck and he pressed her against him. Hinata loved being in his arms, his scent and the warmth of his body made her feel safe and protected.

They continued to travel at a slower pace, Naruto deep in thoughts. "Hinata, don't worry we can do this together."

Next thing he knew Hinata had stopped. Confused Naruto followed her example and she threw herself into his arms. Naruto was taken by surprise, not that he complained. Quite the opposite, usually Hinata was still very shy about his affection. Not as much as she had been, but her blushing and stuttering had increased since they had started dating.

Especially when he was being all, quote Kiba 'lovey-dovey', with her, then she became all flustered. Naruto thought it was the cutest thing ever, especially since he figured that he was really the only one who was able to get her to behave that way. He was generously overlooking the one time where Kiba had made her blush. No one had told him that Hinata had blushed only because he was standing right next to her at Gaara's party. And yes it still irked him and no, he hadn't forgotten about it yet.

"Thank you so much. For the first time I feel like this can work out, with you by my side." She whispered in his chest.

Naruto was glad that he had been able to help her and lift the weight somewhat. Now if only everything would work out.

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**Thanks for reading. Critism is greatly appreciated.**

**Any comments, notes, thinks-you-notice, stuff-you-wish-would-happen...? Let me know.**

…


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you very much for reading the first part. And thank you even more for reviewing.  
**

** Redsox31: Thank you. It took so long, because I've written the whole story, so I can update every week.**

** TL (guest): I know what you mean, and I hope that I won't disappoint you. I guarantee for nothing, I didn't want to make it too complicated. I'd appreciate some input or critism here.**

** SnugglesB: Here you go :) If nothing goes wrong, you can expect an update every week.**

** Chewie Cookies: Thank you so so much. Pointing that out is incredibly helpful for me. I hope I found all of them. **

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**-2-**

"So how are things going with Chouji?"

The weekly coffee party of the Konoha Kunoichi was really cut short this week. With Sakura and Hanabi in Suna, as well as Hinata on her way to visit them, it was only five of them. Karin was mysteriously still missing even though she was supposed to arrive an hour ago, so it was only two blondes, a brunette and a red head who had gathered in Ino's kitchen.

A content smile found his way to Ino's lips and her turquoise eyes shone. "Great. He is simply wonderful"

Karui snorted. "Yeah and you better keep him. I doubt there is another guy as calm and understanding and patient with you as he is."

"Hey what it that supposed to mean." Ino complained and glared at Karui.

"Well…" Tenten started, "…we saw you and Chouji shopping yesterday and let me tell you, you can sure be glad that Cho has such big hands or he would not have been able to carry all those bags!"

Karui and Temari snickered at that remark. It was true that Chouji with is patient and caring attitude was just perfect go balance Ino's extroverted behavior.

"Pfft, whatever." Ino huffed. "It's not like I'm the only one who can be lucky to have her current boyfriend. I mean Karui is just too explosive and wild, I don't think any other guy could keep up with her "open" ways and ideas. And Shika is the only man in the world who can put up with all the complaints and pushing from Tema. And, well, we all know that Tenten has a weak spot only Neji can find. I'm not even getting started on Lee and Karin."

"Where is she by the way?" Temari glanced at the clock. "She's going to miss all the gossip about our newest favorite couple. It is a shame they only got together after we have given up on betting years ago!"

"True, you should hear Neji talking about Naruto. I still don't know if he is happy or…" Tenten got interrupted by the doorbell.

"Ah, that's probably Karin!" She exclaimed and Ino got up to let their delayed friend in.

"Hello ladies, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" A tired looking Karin stuck her head through the door, before she got shoved in by the impatient blonde behind her.

"Wow, you don't look so good. Did you sleep at all last night?" Karui remarked after seeing the bags under Karin's eyes. Her red hair floated down her shoulders untamed, and she was still in her pajama bottoms.

"No, I slept great, I'm just tired from dragging around THAT HUGE ENGAGEMENT RING all the time!" Karin flung her hand in the air, showing off the diamond ring on her left ring finger.*

The next minutes were dominated by loud happy squeals. "Oh my god, Lee asked you to marry him?" Temari inspected the ring intently and whistled under her breath.

"Yes! It was so romantic and all. He and Gai-sensei…"

"Wait him **and **Gai? Did I miss something?" Karui intercepted. It was common knowledge that Karin and Lee admired Gai with a burning passion. Konoha's green beast had already reserved the right to become godfather for all their future children.

"But of course, Lee asked him to assist with the dance!"

"**Dance?!"** A chorus of voices yelled.

"Exactly." Karin didn't seem fazed by the open mouthed figures in the room in the least. "If they didn't do the dance, the song would have been stupid"

Temari had the distinct feeling that she did **not **want to know what song they had performed, but before she could voice this thought Ino had already asked.

"It was so romantic. They did 'The One' Lee asked Gai to help him, since Neji inexplicably refused to participate. Can you believe that?" Karin huffed.

Tenten tried really hard not to picture it, but it was already too late, when she thought about Neji in some ridiculous outfit doing a dance routine while singing Backstreet Boys the laughter made his way to her lips and slipped past it. Soon the room was filled with loud laughter and cheers.

"I would pay money to see that!" Temari gasped as she held her stomach. "Tenten, you think there is any chance you could get Neji to…"

"Not a chance in hell! But if I could I'd make millions."

Karin meanwhile was pouting, not really seeing what was so funny about Lee's proposal.

…

_Karin's day had started like every other day. She had woken up at six sharp, turned off her alarm even before it started to ring and sat up straight in bed. She started to stretch her slender figure. And one big yawn later she jumped out of bed, her usual energy already in place, but then she realized that something else wasn't._

"_Lee?" She frowned when her boyfriend didn't respond. "Lee? Honey, are you there?"_

_Typically Lee would wake up right with her and start his morning work-out with push-ups while she made them a healthy breakfast. But it wasn't unusual for him to already work out when she awoke. Then he'd be doing push-ups in the back yard, where she could spot him from their bed room window. After she had made breakfast she'd tell him to come in. Only that on this specific morning the backyard was empty. _

_Karin shook her head in wonder. Lee would have told her if he had plans, and if Guy-sensei had come by for an early training outside their home, he would have left a sweet note for her at her bed stand to explain his absence. Also she was sure that Lee had not told her about him having any plans._

_As she entered the kitchen the red head was met with the second surprise that day. On the table in the kitchen was a glass of orange juice accompanied by a large plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. In the middle stood a vase with a bouquet of beautiful red roses and a card was stuck in them. _

"_Good morning love,_

_I am deeply sorry not to have been by your side when you woke up this morning. To not be able to see your beautiful face right after you have awoken from your slumber, pains me deeply. However I am afraid I had no choice in this matter. _

_I would love to see you as soon as possible but Guy-sensei and I will be busy for the rest of the morning, so please meet me for lunch. I will wait for you, my dearest Karin, at noon by the entrance of 'Le petit mansion'. _

_I cannot wait to lay eyes upon your beautiful face. I love you._

_Yours truly,_

_Lee"_

_Karin smiled brightly as she hugged the note close to her chest. "I love you, too." She sighed dreamily. _

_It had taken her forever to pick what to wear, since Lee had been so sweet with the roses and the card, Karin wanted to look amazing to surprise him and make him realize why she was worth sticking around for. So she pulled out a green jumpsuit which she had tailored to work as a tight dress. It accentuated her curves and worked well with her red hair. Her hair had been pulled up in an elegant bun. Karin didn't like high heels but on this special occasion she figured that it would make her look sexier. And just like that, she was ready to go._

_Another bouquet of red roses awaited her in the hands of a very dashing looking Lee, all dressed up in a suit – green tie, of course. _

"_Lee? What's the occasion?" A little surprised Karin took the roses from him before giving him a loving kiss. She was very glad that she had dressed up._

_He blushed and ducked his head. "Nothing really, I just wanted to match your radiant beauty."_

_The red on her face was a perfect match to the color of her hair. "Thanks, Lee."_

_Lee seemed a little on edge as they sat down; he fidgeted in his seat and messed up the order. _

"_Are you alright, Lee?" Concerned her small hand reached out to take his sweaty one._

_His bowl shaped head nodded vigorously and kept glancing to the entrance door._

_They had just finished the entrée, when Karin saw Guy appear and flash Lee a big grin. Matching Lee, his sensei also had thrown on a suit. _

"_Lee, what's…" Karin didn't get further, because the sound of loud music drowned out her voice._

_Other people might have criticized the fact that neither Guy not Lee had any idea how to sing, but to Karin it was the sound of the angels. And it wasn't like meeting the notes mattered at all, since even the most feared music critic would not be able to deny that their amazing dance moves put every professional to shame. With all the swinging of their hips going on, who cared about the music really? _

_Karin suppressed the first squeal as Lee got down on one knee and pulled out a small satin box –green, of course._

"_Karin, my love, I don't ever want to spend another day without you by my side and…" whatever heart-warming speech Lee had prepared, he didn't get to tell it. _

"_YES! A thousand times yes!" She didn't try to suppress the second squeal as she threw herself into his arms. _

_Most of the other guest in the restaurant had stood up and applauded the now engaged couple. Guy finally couldn't hold it in anymore and his waterworks of joy started to work. _

"_This is the picture of youthful love. Remember it people!" He pointed at the couple. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" The poor waiter he had crushed in a hug nodded furiously as he tried to pry the large man's arm off of him._

…

"I've already decided that I will take his name after our wedding!" Karin announced to the girls after they had calmed down.

With one gesture Karin pushed her glasses back. "I can picture it: **Lee and Karin Rock**, is both awesome and true!"

…

"Hinata!" Hanabi's speed rivaled even Naruto's as she stormed into her sisters arms. Hinata responded happily as she smiled broadly and hugged Hanabi close

"Hanabi it's so nice to see you."

Hanabi almost squeezed her to death and after she finally let go all she did was wave vaguely in Naruto's direction.

"What I don't get a hug?" Naruto sulked and crossed his arms.

Hanabi turned to him with a grin. "I thought you'd never ask. Sure you do, now that we are technically in-laws." She outstretched her arms and allowed the blond to hug her.

Behind her Hinata turned a soft pink but was unable to scowl her sister. The idea of marrying Naruto was too nice to be angry at Hanabi.

"Where are Gaara and Sakura?" Naruto released Hanabi from his hug and looked around.

"Well, Gaara was supposed to be here. I'm not really sure where he is, but he probably got hold up at the office." Hanabi shrugged it off. "And Sakura is probably fighting with Kankuro again!"

Naruto's ears perked up at this. "He's not giving her a hard time, is he?" He asked worried.

Hinata's younger sister snorted. "It's more like they are giving each other a hard time. They are constantly at each other's throats."

Hinata and Naruto exchanged glances, not sure whether that meant Sakura was doing better or worse than in Konoha. It was necessary to talk about it later but for now, Gaara and Hanabi had priority.

"Oh right!" Hanabi suddenly stopped and almost caused Hinata to bump into her, if it wasn't for her quick reflexes. "Naruto, I have something for you." The brunette rummaged in her bag just to pull out a simple black book.

And finally, Hanabi got to say the words she had wanted to for a few years. "Took you long enough."

With both hands she handed him the book and smiled brightly. "Ah, you have no idea how long I've waited for this."

"Thanks Hanabi." He grinned as he took it from her and opened it eagerly. He had become used to receiving gifts for his birthday but still, after all the years accepting presents from others was something special for him.

Hinata shot her sister a suspicious look, remembering the whole Kamasutra book debacle. "What is this?"

The younger one smiled. "Don't worry this time it has nothing to do with Kamasutra, but let me tell you, you are missing out." She winked, pretty happy with her choice of gift, despite not having known she'd use it herself one day.

The red of Hinata's face reached her hairline.

"'Nata, look at this." Naruto hadn't listened to their conversation; he was too engrossed into the photo-album Hanabi had given him. His voice had gone quiet and his eyes had gone big. In amazement he turned a page. As Hinata stepped next to him to take a look at her sister's gift, Naruto's hand reached out automatically to pull her closer. His arms locked around her thin waist as if she'd disappear any moment.

Naruto's blue eyes were locking with Hanabi's silver ones. "Thank you Hanabi." He said earnestly.

"Wow." Hinata breathed out as her fingertips stroke over the picture of her and Naruto. It had rained heavily that day and Naruto had insisted to escort her home. Hanabi must have seen them from the window of the apartment Naruto was trying his best to shield them with his jacket while they were running towards her apartment. It was a beautiful picture. "This is amazing Hanabi." She told her as she turned to the next page.

"Yeah, yeah. I was starting to get worried I went to all of this trouble for nothing." She waved her hand dismissingly. "You can look at it later; now let's get going to Gaara."

…

"Welcome to Suna." Gaara greeted them in his office. "And congratulations Naruto on finally fulfilling your dream."

He was answered with a large grin and a declaration from Naruto, how he had never a doubt that he would one day make it. "But besides that, how are things going for you?"

"I am very well, thank you Naruto. How are my men doing in Konoha? Is the exchange program going as planned?"

Hinata and Hanabi had meanwhile relocated in Hanabi's office to leave the Kages alone for their meeting. The two of them were also busy discussing the current diplomatic affairs. An unspoken agreement to leave the more personal issues for the next day when all official stuff was done remained between them.

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*** I was inspired to this by the best series in the world: FRIENDS**

**Thank you very much for reading. **

**Comments, advice, critism, ideas or thoughts are greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank all of you for reading and especially for reviewing.**

**Redsox31: Hell no, it was the most awesome thing Konoha has ever seen! **

** TL (guest): Thanks a lot. Also, that will be an issue in the future chapters.**

** Chewie Cookies: Glad you liked it. Sorry about that, but I had planned to make the chapter shorter, but then I felt it was too short... so that's how that happened.**

**I do not own Naruto.  
**

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**-3-**

"Ufff…"Naruto flopped down on the spacious couch that stood in the middle of their room in the Konoha embassy. The room was painted in a bright white and as a courtesy to Naruto Gaara had let the painters create ornaments of orange on one wall. The suite had an equally large bedroom with a huge bed in the middle and a bath on suite. The amazing architects of Suna had thought the Kazekage building through from the basement to the top, and therefore the heat of the day was stored and used to warm up the cold night. No other country was as efficient with their energy as Suna. They were completely independent on other sources than the sun. Naruto had spent the better part of the day not in Gaara's air-conditioned office but rather in the open. And while it sat well with his looks, his blonde hair brighter than ever, his ocean blue eyes shone with intensity and his tan complimented his features, Naruto himself felt rather drained. "That was one long day and it is so hot out there." Even though the room was cool compared to outside Naruto still felt that it was to warm.

Then again, he thought as he watched Hinata through half lidded eyes, the heat did have its perks. She had opted for a loose traditional tank top and slack pants in the same beige color. Her skin was sensitive to the sun and the top of her shoulders had already taken on a light red color, despite her best efforts and sun blocker.

The blank colors made her seem even paler than she already was but her dark black hair contrasted charmingly with it. She was absolutely gorgeous, especially to him because he knew exactly what was hidden behind her enlarged clothing. "But that could also be because you are here." He said, referring to the temperature in the room.

Exactly as desired a light blush dusted her cheeks; quite to his content it had a similar color than her sun-burned shoulders. "D-don't be silly".

Curse her stutter, and she was doing so great up until he had decided to reciprocate her feelings. Not, that she didn't want him to, but sometimes their relationship felt surreal to her. After all she had had given up on him ever being more than her best friend.

Naruto reached up and pulled her down to him on the couch. "I'm not being silly." He murmured into her ear. "You are…," he placed a kiss below her ear, "…the most perfect…," another kiss on her nose, "…the most beautiful…," a feathery kiss on her red cheek, "…the sexiest…," slowly he reached her neck, eliciting a quiet moan from her, "…the sweetest…," her fingers tangled themselves in his hair as his lips reached her pulse point, "…the most…"

A loud knock interrupted his next declaration and he buried his face in her shoulder. "Go away." His voice was muffled and dripped with frustration.

Her face, in the time being, rivaled a tomato and Hinata had trouble to control her breathing. They entangled themselves from each other, both feeling equally unhappy about it.

The door opened slowly to reveal an amused Hanabi. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She even mustered up her most innocent voice.

Ignoring the death glare coming from Naruto she grinned meaningfully at her sister. From the state of her ruffled clothes and her messy hair, Hanabi had a pretty good idea what she had just interjected. And somehow she didn't feel very guilty about it, after all Naruto's death glare and the pout that went with it were way too amusing to miss out on.

"Sakura finally finished her shift, there has been an emergency but now she's waiting downst…"

"**You jerk!"**

Naruto automatically flinched when he heard his former teammate's angry voice roaring through the house. Having been a victim of Sakura's wrath… temper had left a deep impression on Naruto. He didn't envy the "jerk" that managed to drew it onto him.

Hanabi sighed and shook her head. "There she goes screaming at Kankuro again, oh he and Gaara are waiting downstairs as well!"

…

Naruto grinned widely after witnessing Sakura's and Kankuro's bickering for over an hour, he had decided that Suna was nothing but good for Sakura and ironically so was Kankuro. Turns out that when Sakura's rage was directed at someone other than him, it was quite funny to watch.

"I wonder when they will hook up. It's so obvious they like each other." He whispered to Hinata.

Hinata's eyes almost popped out at his hushed statement, "**That** you can see?!"

She just couldn't believe it, she had loved him for years, **years (!)** and he never even had a clue, but that he saw?! He was truly the most unpredictably ninja ever.

"Well **they** make it pretty obvious." He defended, causing Hinata to roll her eyes.

…

Staring at his wall Kankuro huffed in annoyance once again. Just what was wrong with this banshee? Did she have to constantly try to kill him?

Granted he may deserve it, since he was always trying to make her explode, but…Well, it was her own fault. She was just downright smoking when she blew up at him like that. How her green eyes sparkled with anger and the way she would always turned away frustrated because she didn't manage to land a hit on him. That was when he got just the perfect view of her sweet little butt, swaging furiously with her raging breaths. Admittedly she was a hot piece of ass, even if the rest of her body lacked certain feminine qualities. But her form was tight and firm and her ass…to die for. Yep, Sakura Haruno, she was really sexy when she was mad. But only when she was mad…and sometimes when she wasn't.

Argh, frustrated he tossed around in bed, he should not be thinking about that pink dragoon right now. Not with another woman in bed! After he just had sex!

Pathetic! He was absolutely pathetic!

…

"So - the two of you hooked up?"

Hinata casted her boyfriend a disapproving look at his choice of words towards her sister and the Kazekage. They were seated in Gaara's office. After the official protocol of the visit had been completed, it was time to discuss the most troublesome of all topics: Gaara's and Hanabi's relationship.

The Kazekage cleared his throat in an awkward manner. "I guess that is one way to put it. I am aware that this will cause Konoha and especially you some problems." He told Naruto in response.

"Don't worry about it, all we need is a plan." Naruto waved him off. "But…" He locked eyes with the Kazekage and his tone became serious, "…I really need to know how serious this is? I am not willing to take on the entire council and risk a potential war with the other villages just to have you split up a week later!"

Hinata tensed up at Naruto's words, she had told her sister the same thing in the letter she had written to her.

…

_Her hand was clutching his in a tight grasp. Gaara wasn't sure how long they had been sitting on the couch in silence. Hanabi had said they needed to talk but she hadn't said a word since her outburst earlier. He wasn't sure about the correct way of pursuing this matter. He didn't want to see her cry like that again; it had been an awful experience. His heart had throbbed painfully in his chest and a feeling of uselessness had made him almost unable to move. _

_The petite woman next to him cleared her throat. "I need to show you something." She stood up but still refused to let go of his hand._

"_Do you want me to come with you?" He inquired and rose from his seat._

"_No, not necessarily…I could bring it." She trailed off, if she went to get the letter than she'd have to leave Gaara alone. And after how she behaved earlier, Hanabi wasn't so sure he'd still be there. "You'll stay, right?"_

"_If you want me to." His gaze held hers for a few seconds. _

"_Yes. You have to stay." Hesitantly she let go of his hand. "I'll be right back. Please stay." She hated how her voice sounded, unsure and weak…afraid._

_She hurried out of the room and it didn't take her a minute to come back with the piece of paper in her hands. Gaara took the paper from her hands and for a second it looked like she wanted to touch him again, but in the end decided against it. Instead she let her already halfway stretched arms fall back to her sides, while her teeth worked overtime on her lips._

"_Read it." She requested in a quiet manner. _

"_A letter from your sister?" Gaara raised an eyebrow but started to read the letter anyway._

_Her heart was pounding in her chest and she rubbed her sweating palms against the fabric of her sweat pants. She could no longer stand still, she didn't want to look at him while he'd understood what Hinata had written, she was afraid of what she would she, so she started to pace around the room until she reached the window. It looked peaceful outside, darkness had fallen and without the moon to illuminate the night, it was pitch black. _

_Slowly Gaara put the letter down and made his way next to her. The red head came to a halt right behind her. "I still don't understand, Hanabi. How is this an explanation?" _

_Her small shoulders tensed and she hesitated to answer. "W-Well… it's just I…" She fumbled with her sentences and stumbled over the words she wanted to say. _

_Gaara didn't say anything, he had no idea where she was going with this, but when she was ready to talk she would._

"_Look." Hanabi tried to get a grip on herself and she turned around to face him. "I wasn't sure… I didn't know…" It was frustrating really, Hanabi thought, not being able to say what you wanted to say. "Gaara, I just didn't know how… where…"_

"_You are not sure where we stand with our relationship?" He stated calmly. _

_The woman in front of him nodded and diverted her eyes to the ground. This conversation was way too early for the stage their relationship was in. The red head observed her carefully. It was rare to see her vulnerable usually she put up a unapproachable front based on sarcasm and intelligence. _

_In this moment however, she looked small and fragile. Their difference in height wasn't unreasonable big but for the first time he say that her shadow was completely indulged in his. She was beautiful and Gaara felt the very strong urge to protect her from anything that wanted to hurt her. His eyes fixated on her full red lips that were still in the process of being abused by her teeth. _

_Gaara cleared his throat. "Where do you think we stand?"_

_A small shrug was his answer. "I don't know." She whispered quietly._

"_Then rather where do you want us to go with this relationship?" He rephrased his earlier question. _

_Hanabi __**did**__ know where she wanted to go with this relationship – where she wanted to go with him. She __**did**__ know she loved him and she __**did**__ know that she was serious and that she didn't want him to leave her. _

_But even though she knew all that, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him. Desperation filled her, and that was exactly how she didn't want to sound like. She didn't know how she could tell him all this without pressuring him or scare him off. They were only seeing each other for a short amount time and Hanabi knew that Gaara wasn't experienced in these kinds of things. Not that she had any more experience but unlike him she had not been deprived of actual human contact and love for the most part of her life._

_Gaara measured her up and down with his gaze. He was unsure what he was supposed to say or rather he was unsure if what he wanted to say was what she wanted to hear. It felt like if he said something wrong he would lose her and he didn't want that. _

"_Hanabi." Rough hands lifted up her chin and made her look him in the eyes. "Tell me."_

"_I know we haven't been dating for very long." She chose her words carefully and every word came out painfully slowly. "But… I, well…" _

_Hanabi understood that she had to tell him where they stood. He was used to rejection and avoided to put himself in a position where he was in danger of experiencing it again. She knew he wouldn't be the one to tell her first, it had to be her._

"_I love you." She exhaled finally. "And I don't want to leave you. I don't know what will happen in the future and I don't know how you feel about it, but I'm serious. I'm in this for the long run." Hanabi had to take a deep breath when she was done. _

_The man she had just poured her heart out to, hadn't moved a muscle. Her eyes were downcast once again and she observed the crinkles on her pants. _

"_Hanabi, look at me." His tone was soft and he stroke back a chestnut brown hair. Hesitantly her silver eyes gazed back up at him. "That is good." He whispered close to her ear. He pulled her to him and forced his fingers in her hair to pull her into a kiss._

…

Gaara's eyes betrayed no emotion "We are serious"

It was just three words but their impact was huge. Despite the rather emotionless tone, it erased all doubt Hinata may had concerning the relationship between her sister and the Kazekage. Somehow Hanabi and Gaara appeared to have worked it out. Hinata was impressed, she wasn't sure that she would have managed what her sister did. Gaara and Hanabi weren't dating very long and then she had to ask him how deep their relationship really was…that was ought to be weird and uncomfortable.

"Good." Naruto stated. "Now, how are we going to do this?" He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head.

Hinata and her sister exchanged looks before the younger one shrugged. Hinata took a chair next to Naruto. His hand automatically reached out to play with the soft strands of her hair.

"We have the respective village councils to deal with, and the international affairs this will cause will have to be taken care of as well. Additionally there's the Hyuga Clan itself and the Clan council of Konoha." Naruto summarized what he and Hinata had talked about on their way here.

"What does the Clan council have to do with this?" Hanabi asked.

"The power shift. They won't be happy with the additional influence we gain with a tie with Suna." Hinata sighed and leaned her head against Naruto's shoulders.

The brunette nodded. "Of course, I wasn't aware of that, but you're right."

"Well," Gaara crossed his arms in front of his chest, "personally I don't believe the Suna Council will be an unsolvable problem. They are quite reasonable and in the end Suna can mostly gain from this alliance. After all the Byakugan is the last remaining Doujutsu and additional connections to the most influential Clan in Konoha will make our alliance more powerful. Most likely the Suna council will take the proposal in a heartbeat."

"Yes, that is more than likely." Naruto agreed. He and Hinata had figured that much. "Hinata assured me that the Hyuga Clan won't be too hard to convince either. They are in the same position – they can mostly gain from it. After all having more alliances will only strengthen their position."

"That leaves us with three major problems: Konoha and the Clans and the other villages. They won't be happy with a strengthening of the alliance between Konoha and Suna. Not to mention the bloodline that will come with it." Hanabi deducted. "I guess that Kumo will not like that one bit."

"I think…" Hinata was deep in thoughts and her index finger had started to draw circles on Naruto's arm. "I think it would be best if we divided the task and also we'll have to time each action carefully, so that no party feels left out or neglected."

Her sister sighed. "This will be a hell of a lot trouble, won't it?"

Naruto locked eyes with her. "That's why I asked if you're sure about it."

"We are." Gaara's voice forced Naruto to look at him instead of his girlfriend and the blond nodded.

"I got that."

Hinata took Naruto's hand in her own and rubbed her thump over it. "Gaara, I believe that you will be able to deal with the diplomacy required inside the village?"

A single nod was her answer.

"Good." She took a deep breath. "I would like to get Neji and possible father on board as well."

"Yes, they'll have to deal with your Clan. We'll need their support anyway and that way we can avoid having to deal with the Clan ourselves." Naruto agreed. "You think your Father will support this?"

Hanabi smiled, "Don't worry. If he doesn't, I'll make him."

A shiver ran over Naruto's back. Suddenly Hanabi looked suspiciously like a little demon with that wicked smile.

He laughed nervously, "Good that is good. Hinata and I will talk to them once we're back."

"Hanabi and I will take care of the international negotiation; that leaves you Naruto, with the Council. And we'll handle the Clans together with Neji and my father."

The blonde grimaced at this, he knew that Hiashi had the most experience needed to deal with the other Clans but he hadn't talked to him, since he and Hinata started to date. He was actually terrified that Hiashi would disagree with their love and in his head he had played out certain scenarios in which Hiashi kept Hinata from him, or even worse married her off just so they couldn't be together. Of course that was ridiculous but somehow Naruto still had a hard time picturing anyone, expect for Hinata, to want him in their family.

"How is your position in this matter? You are the Hokage. Giving up a bloodline limit could have negative consequences." Gaara inquired, his intertwined fingers propped his head.

Naruto beamed, "I want to create a peaceful world, a world where people can decide for themselves. I think if we give the people the freedom to decide who they want to be with and where they want to live, we can get closer to that world. Sure Konoha loses a Kekkai Genkai but when the people in the villages become closer so will the villages. I think that Konoha will gain more from this union in the future than it will lose in the present."

Next to him Hinata smiled, even after all this time she had known him, he still managed to inspire her to work for something that was bigger than them. He had reached all of his dreams only to create new ones. With him nothing was impossible, and she didn't think that her love and admiration for him would ever stop growing.

"That sounds nice. Let's hope the village council of Konoha will see it that way as well." Hanabi said, but even her face had softened at Naruto's words.

"Ok." Happily Naruto rubbed his hands together. "We should think about the time schedule. What will we tell who and when?"

He threw his arm around Hinata's shoulder and twirled her silky hair around his fingers. His speech had given her hope but at the same time Hinata was even more aware of the importance of their task. The thought of being responsible for a matter that sensitive was causing all kinds of doubts to flare up within her.

When Naruto felt her tenseness through her skin he opted to massage her neck. Naruto knew how afraid she was that something would go wrong. She relaxed against him and her hand rested on his muscular chest.

"I guess it would be best, if we'd find allies first." Hanabi said thoughtfully. She tapped her chin with her index finger. "We should talk to Neji and father, first though. Maybe then we should meet up again and go into details."

"Hanabi's right." Gaara agreed. "It makes no sense to continue planning this out, if two major parties involved are not present. I suggest that you're going to write once you talked to the two and we will postpone this discussion until then."

He rose from the chair, indicating the end of the meeting and stepped closer to his brunette girlfriend.

"So I guess we are still to keep our relationship secret until we sealed the deal?" Hanabi asked Hinata.

Her sister agreed, "Yes, I would think it would be best to keep a low profile until absolutely necessary." Her look became almost sad and guilty, "But nevertheless I still assume it will take a year in the very least." Hinata shot an apologetic glance at Hanabi.

Hanabi sighed; she had already figured something like that. This was going to be a pain, but then again she didn't really think that keeping their relationship quiet was much of a problem, seeing how both she and Gaara weren't very keen on showing public affection.

* * *

**Any comments, ideas, critism or just anything to say in general... let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

** TL (guest): I'm seriously starting to think that you'll be highly disappointed in the story, the way I have thought it so far. But since you pointed out a of stuff, I will go over the story again. Thank you very much, for being attentive and pointing out more difficulties for me to use. I appreciate it very much. **

** Chewie Cookies: Once again, thank you very much for pointing out my misspelling. I need that very much. **

** Redsox31: Well, I can live with that. But I hope you have kept in mind that they were doing the dance in TUXEDOES... I mean that doubles the amount of awesomeness.**

**Hope you'll enjoy Chapter 4**

* * *

**-4-**

"Hello Sakura, do you have a minute?" Politely Hinata knocked at Sakura's door. The white door was open, but Hinata hadn't wanted to waltz straight in, instead she waited in the doorframe. Sakura sat in a big office that was brightly white painted. It smelled like sanitizer and fresh lemons. Her radiant pink hair, stood out in the otherwise colorless room. There had been a time when Hinata had wished she was more like Sakura. Outstanding, confident and beautiful, but she wasn't at even if she sometimes wanted to be more like Sakura or Ino, Hinata had come to like who she was.

She had decided to pay Sakura a visit in the hospital to talk to her about the position and how she liked her mission in Suna. But Hinata also wanted to talk to her about how she was doing personally. Sakura's reason for leaving Konoha had also been not entirely professional. During dinner they didn't have a lot of time to talk about such matters. Not that it had been an appropriate time anyway. Hinata hadn't pried too much from Naruto after he had spent the evening before with his former teammate. Only that he thought Sakura was doing fine and that she liked Kankuro.

The pinkette looked up from her desk and smiled. "Hinata, sure come in! I'm so sorry I didn't have much time, but the medic program and the hospital; they take up all my time. Oh, please take a seat. How are things going in Konoha?" Sakura flopped down in her chair after raining down sentences after sentence on Hinata.

Hinata gave her a quick overview about the newest gossip in Konoha. Which wasn't that much to start with, since Sakura knew most of it from her lively correspondence with Ino.

"How are you doing here in Suna?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Pretty good you know…" Sakura elaborated and focused especially on her work.

Hinata and Sakura made casual talk for a while before Hinata finally addressed the touchy subject. "And how are you feeling? Better than in Konoha - about Sasuke?"

Sakura stopped for a while.

Sasuke?

She hadn't thought about him in weeks. Suna really had had an impact on her. She felt a lot better ever since she got her. Between her work, fighting with Kankuro, the medic program, trying to beat Kankuro into a pulp, her paperwork, screaming at Kankuro, writing letters to her friends, dinner or lunch with Kankuro since all the fighting made them hungry-wait was it her or did she spent a lot of time with that pervert?

So he could be charming and nice, but only to other woman, and only to get them to sleep with him - like she would want that! Pah, not in a million years. And then he had no shame at all, always running around half naked. And that was absolutely not necessary, even if it was his own home and it was six in the morning and his chest was incredibly toned and…

So what if he was good-looking, how else would he get all those stupid, brainless girls to sleep with his disgusting self? What sane woman in the world would want that anyway? Not her that was for sure…not that she needed to worry about that. He had made it very clear she was not his type. Not that she cared, not at all. She had plenty of guys that would die to go out with her…like she needed Kankuro. Not that she wanted him anyway.

Irritated Hinata tried to read the expression on Sakura's face but it really made no sense.

"Sorry Hinata, what was the question?"

…

"Wow that was great, Konoha needs a public mixed bath. I have to talk to the council about that." Naruto mused to himself using his chair to circle around his center while he waited for Gaara in the Kazekage's office. He was trying to figure out if the budget of the village was enough to build such an expensive building, like a public bath. After not getting further with his musings he started to swirl around the room using his chair only. He started to make switch noises for good measure and cheered if he managed to cross the room faster than before.

"Now look at that. The great Hokage all grown up." Hanabi leaned in the doorframe smirking. Naruto froze and blushed embarrassed. Hanabi continued unimpressed. "I wanted to ask you something. I have heard that before you became the **mature **and **mighty** Hokage you had a knack for what I like to call 'experiments with the human nature when in stressful situations', but I guess you would no longer be interested in such an 'experiment'."

An interested blond eyebrow rose. "Keep talking"

"Well, you did learn the Hiraishin, right?" She took a seat opposed to him and smiled wickedly. "So I was wondering, can you only do it yourself or can you send another person?"

His eyebrow furrowed, "I can take another person with me if I have contact. I haven't quite mastered all of its secrets yet, though. One person is the maximum right now. I'm working on more but that'll take some more time."

Hanabi shrugged. "So theoretically spoken you could bring one person to another place, if there is a seal in that place, right?"

His eyes narrowed and the grin in his face got dangerously close to the expression she was currently wearing. "I could - theoretically spoken of course."

…

"You know Naruto; it was very considerate of you to let Sakura sleep in, after her long night at the hospital." Hinata smiled widely at her blond boyfriend, who in turn almost felt a little guilty.

"So don't you think the public swimming pool is great?" He changed the topic fast. "I was thinking about asking the Suna engineers about that. I mean what else is the skill exchange program for?"

Hinata agreed with him and waved at her sister.

"Good morning, you two." Hanabi already waited for them in the doorframe of the Kazekage Tower. "It's so sad you are already leaving again! Where did you leave Sakura?"

Her grin should have made Hinata suspicious but only Naruto grasped why Hinata's sister was in such a good mood despite them leaving today. His wink to the younger one went unnoticed by his beautiful girlfriend since she had her sister locked in a fierce embrace. Hanabi answered his wink with an even larger grin.

"So come on in! Gaara and I made breakfast" Hanabi ushered both of them in, overlooking the astonished faces of the couple.

She couldn't blame them anyway, Gaara didn't exactly enjoy cooking and it was only due to her very convincing strategy that he had helped her out this morning. If she had let him have it his way, they would still be in bed, doing…well, each other.

"Why are you so red all of the sudden? You almost look like Hinata when you do that!" Amused blue eyes meet her silver ones and behind Naruto, Hanabi could see her sister stifle a giggle. Hanabi rolled her eyes and pretended her cheeks were not heated from thoughts about their usual morning ritual.

…

This felt warm, warm and protected, Sakura mused still half asleep. Her shift at the hospital had been so very tiring; she didn't plan on getting up any time soon. It was warm and nice and she felt save, there weren't a lot of times when she felt like this. Somehow Kankuro appeared in front of Sakura's inner eyes. First she tried to shake the feeling from her, but then she realized that no one was here and therefore no one would judge her. She could even blame her half asleep state.

Despite all his shortcomings and his annoying ways, Sakura couldn't deny that Kankuro was one hell of a man. Without that ridiculous make-up (he could call it face paint all he wants) he was very good-looking. It was in moments like this that Sakura was grateful the perv was so shameless. On the countless occasions she had seen him shirtless, she didn't have to leave much to the imagination. With a sigh she shifted slightly in bed, because much to her dismay those occasions had always been linked with an equally undressed bimbo.

Sakura didn't like to admit it but for a while now, she realized that she did not like this one bit. She was still cautious about calling it jealousy, but in the end the pinkette was very aware what she felt and it only enraged her more when he flirted so openly with other women in front of her. Then again he had no idea at all and basically she had neither reason nor right to be jealous. They weren't a couple, not even close, and the chances of that ever changing were like zero.

She was as far away from his type as one could get he had told her so numerous times. Apparently her assets weren't enough to please him at all. Great, now she felt depressed. Time to go back to dreamland!

…

This was nice, it smelled like cherry and somehow a little like sanitizer. It was the simply and clean smell Sakura had. Kankuro decided he could get used to that. But then again he could get used to a lot of things regarding Sakura. It was funny how the only girl he could see himself being seriously interested in hated his guts. Even worse was, that it was his own fault that they didn't get along. But he couldn't help himself around her.

Sakura was always pretty but when she was mad, her eyes were glowing and her whole body was shaking. It was just so hot. Besides after she had calmed down they sometimes even went out to grab a bite to eat. So much fighting made hungry after all.

Kankuro lazily grinned to himself still half asleep, man how he wished to feel that wild cat beneath him or on top, he didn't really mind. Groaning he twisted around, it wasn't like that would ever happen! She thought he was a disgusting pervert and he couldn't even deny it.

He buried his head in his pillow. It smelled even more like her than before. Maybe he was going crazy, because right now he could have sworn he heard her sigh besides him. But his chances of ever getting his hands on her were already non-existing much less to get her even close to his bed.

Lazily he dragged his arm around the woman next to him…

…

…

Wait? Did he hook up last night? He couldn't remember that and he really should. He barely drank two beers with Naruto and his brother. Apart from that, Naruto was so busy telling him stuff he didn't even get close to a woman.

But then…who was lying next to him?

…

"So what did you guys do last night?" Hanabi blew at her tea to cool it down.

Naruto shrugged, "Nothing special, we just hung out, you know? And how was girl's night?"

Hinata smiled, "It was nice. Sadly Sakura had to go to the hospital very soon, so most of them time it was just the two of us, but we had a good time"

"Hey Gaara, stop overworking Saku…" whatever Naruto wanted to say it was drowned by a deafening cry from upstairs.

"**AHHHHHHHHH"**

All four of them were out of their seats and on their way to the source of that scream before the yell stopped. The sight that they were met with when they stormed in Kankuro's room was a definite shock to all but two of them.

"Oh my god you pervert. I can't believe you! What did you do to me?" Sakura had sheets warped around her screaming her head off. Fierce green eyes completely drained to the other person in the bed.

Kankuro looked equally angry. "ME? I'm the pervert? Who woke up in whose bed? And I sure as hell didn't invite you here?"

Sakura gasped for air, "I can't believe you! I don't know how I got here, but trust me I have more self-respect that to sleep with you!"

"Oh." Kankuro crossed his arms and one of his eyebrows rose. "You do? Then how come you are in my bed? Maybe you wanted me so bad that you just couldn't hold yourself back anymore"

"You are so utterly disgusting, Kankuro. I swear if I ever find out you did something to me, I'll kill you." Her fist were clenched but she had yet to try to hit him. In her current state she was just too shocked and embarrassed.

"Me, touching you? You wish!" He snorted as she turned to leave.

Sakura had barely left the room, with Hinata hot on her heels. And Gaara cleared his throat quite loudly. "Kankuro I would prefer it if you could make yourself decent before we discuss this further." His dry tone made Hanabi and Naruto snicker.

As Kankuro looked down he came to the conclusion that yes, indeed he did sleep naked!

"Could you people** please** get out?"

He rummaged through his closet and slipped into a lose pair of pants followed by a black shirt. He had no idea how Sakura ended up in his bed. He really didn't, but it wasn't like he particularly minded. It was just that he would have preferred to know about it and he definitely wanted to be the cause of her stay in his bed.

It really wasn't his fault but the look on her face this morning wouldn't leave him alone, so even if he had nothing to do with it, he was going to be the bigger man and apologize. But he was not sinking so low as to look for her; he was apologizing for something he didn't do, that was all his pride could take.

He was **not **going to look for her. Absolutely not! Nope!

Then why were his feet taking him toward her room and why where his eyes searching for a head full of pink hair? Damn it, his pride must be on vacation right now, Kankuro growled under his breath.

The knock on her door was harder than he had planned.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to you right now, Hinata."

Shit, her voice sounded like she had been crying.

"Sakura, it's me."

At first she didn't say anything. "Go away. You're the last person I want to talk to."

Kankuro flinched at her tone. It may sound crazy but he did prefer an angry and pissed off Sakura over this small little voice.

"Come on. Open up." He knocked again.

"**Go away**." She screeched inside.

He smiled a bit, that was a little better. "Sakura you may not realize this, but I'm really good at everything that requires tools and if you don't open up this door now, I will pick the lock."

It was a blunt lie. Kankuro could indeed pick a lock, but he had nothing on him other than white cotton pants and a shirt.

He heard angry footsteps at the other side of the door and she tore open the door. "**What?**" She hissed.

She got even more pissed when she say that dirt-eating grin on his face.

Without waiting for her consent he entered her room by pushing past her.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" She stomped in behind him, clearly pissed.

Kankuro was actually relieved to see that, since he preferred it over her mood earlier when she had looked like she was about to cry. He hadn't minded the waking up in his bed part, though.

Her foot was tapping against the wooden floor and she had her arms crossed to put up a physical barrier between them. The long awkward silence stretched on between them as Kankuro inspected the view from her living room window.

He had never realized how nice the room was. It was huge, more like a suite than a room. The living room was bright since the light filtered in through two big windows taking up almost the whole west wall. The door to her bedroom was open and he caught a look at her big princess bed with pink sheet.

"What do you want?" Her voice was small and quiet. "If you're here to gloat or make fun of me, I swear I'll kill you."

He would have liked it better if he could believe her words, but her voice hadn't even instilled an ounce of fear in him.

Kankuro sighed. "Look Sakura, I swear I have no idea what happened last night or how you ended up in my bed. I really don't know, but I'm sorry, alright?"

The pinkette stared at him intensely searching for any hint of dishonesty in his eyes. When she couldn't detect any she huffed slightly and turned away from him.

"I don't understand how this could have happened." She wiped her eyes tiredly and rubbed her arms from the chill that came through the open window in the kitchen to her right.

"Maybe you want to get yourself a sweater." He suggested as he took in her clothing. Her thin tank top was clinging to her slim body but what really got his attention was the cute little hot-pant-sweatpants kind of pants that covered her lower body part to only a very slight amount. She might not have been the best-endowed woman but hell she had legs to die for and her ass, boy he could stare at that tight perfect shaped backside for hours without getting tired.

"No, it's fine. I'm not that cold." She smiled a little because really she was happy that he had noticed, since it meant he was at least paying a little attention to her.

"So how **did** this happen?" He wondered out loud.

All he got as an answer was a shrug.

Suddenly he grinned, "Maybe you did sneak in. I mean what other explanation could there be?"

She snorted very unladylike, "Yeah right, who would?"

"Apparently - you. But you know next time you could just ask me."

Her pink lips parted to make way to let a laugh out. "Maybe you abducted me from my bed. I mean you do make it sound like you really want me in your bed again."

With both his hands tucked in his pockets he turned to face her. "And what if I did?"

Green eyes locked with dark brown ones. Sakura's heart was thundering in her chest and she could not fight the blush on her face.

Had he always been standing that close to her or did he only get closer when she didn't look? Either way he was close enough to feel the warmth emitting from his body. He was half a head taller than her and she had to crane her neck. His hot breath on her face made her shiver.

"If is you ever develop a chest that can be seen, that is!" His face was almost slit in half by his grin.

Her punch came hard and fast. Kankuro found himself impaled into her wall.

"You** jerk**!"

…

"Did you get rid of the seals? We can't leave any evidence behind" Hanabi whispered to Naruto as they got ready to set off.

"'Course I undid the seal on Kankuro's bed, what would I ever use it for? – It won't ever disappear completely, however. And Sakura was fast asleep. She won't remember being Hiraishin'd. You worry too much, Nabi." He grinned relaxed.

"What are you two whispering about?" Hinata frowned at the pair. Something was up but she couldn't figure out what it was for the life of her. Whatever it was it couldn't be too good, they were both notorious pranksters after all.

"Nothing much. Well, then we'll head off again. It'll be so much faster now that we can just use the Hiraishin no Jutsu." Naruto seemed happy.

"Yes and now that you have a spot here in Suna I expect Hinata to see me at least once a week!" Hanabi exclaimed.

"Sure thing, I'll let Gaara know so that he can remove the suppressing seal on it." Naruto promised immediately.

"I do like having you in the family." She half smirked up to him.

Naruto smiled back, a warm feeling nestling in his chest. That was right he was a part of a family now! Hinata was his family and with her came a whole clan…well not that they were officially introduced.

He gulped when he thought about having to face her father, Hiashi had been fairly nice to him and Naruto was sure Hinata's father respected him but it didn't change the fact that he was a Jinchurriki. While most people accepted and respected him even before he was announced Hokage not everyone shared that opinion. It had been hard for Naruto to accept that he couldn't change everyone's mind. It didn't matter what he did for them or how much he tried, there were always going to be some people who saw a monster in him.

While Hiashi surely was not one of those people Naruto was still unsure how the head of the Hyuga clan would take it when he was dating his first born. For now, Hinata's father hadn't approached him yet so Naruto assumed that Hiashi was not entirely sure about their relationship, but it wasn't like they were hiding anything. Especially not Naruto, he was a horrible liar and whereas he had been great at pretending to be fine when he was a child and at that time he had certainly been anything but fine, he resented it now.

And apart from that Naruto highly doubted he could hide the feelings he had for Hinata anyway, when she was near he was constantly seeking any form of touch or contact. He'd play with her hair, stroke her back, traced patterns on her arm, nuzzled his nose in her neck, he'd kiss her and hold her hand and he'd be damned if he'd stop.

"Ok let's get back." He announced as he snatched Hinata's hand and intertwined their fingers. "Hold on tight. See ya." He flashed though the hand signs and in the next moment they were gone.

* * *

**Got something to add? Questions, remarks, Critism, Ideas or anything else you have to say? Let me know.**

**Thank you for reading**


	5. Chapter 5

** Shadowgirl608: Thank you very much...and spoiler: Naruto and Hanabi get away with it :)**

** Guest Becca-boo: Thank you for pointing it out and reviewing. I appreciate it. **

** Kavya: Here you go, as promised I'll update once a week. Also thank you so much. And a little fluff in this one, hope you'll like it.**

** Ayrmed: She didn't but clearly she doesn't know Hanabi's knack for pranks. Thanks for reviewing.**

** Flameraven1: Great... I didn't even think of that yet - and the story if already written. But I guess I'll have to write a part about Sakura and Kankuro (kind of forgot the whole 'trained by Tsunade thing' over the Doujutsu problem), but I'll fix that. I think knocking anyone up, would not be a good strategy, and I have been thinking about a trade, but like you said that leaves the other villages out, so... there goes that solution. Other than that, thank you so much for your opinion and ideas.**

** no-maybee-okay: Updates once a week. Thanks for looking forward to the chapters :)**

** Redsox31: So true, Konoha would not be standing anymore with those two. Fine, I'll give up on the dance... Thanks for reviewing.**

** Chewie Cookies: Once again thank you for your help. But that's a difference I get. If I made a mistake there then it's because I suck at typing... Thanks also for your praise, good to know I don't entirely suck at English.**

* * *

**-5-**

"Naruto!" The sternness of her voice got lost between the giggling and the moans his actions were causing her.

"What is it? We are home, aren't we? Finally no interruption." He looked up from his current task of placing butterfly kisses on her stomach to catch her eyes glazed over with pleasure.

"Yes, but did you really had to place a Hiraishin seal on our bed?" Her finger tangled in his hair and shivers ran down his spine. Every single time she touched him, his body reacted to her, towards her, made him feel pleasantly warm inside.

Hinata sighed contently when Naruto ran his fingers up her side. It had been a surprise to find herself in their apartment or more precise in their bed, only mere seconds after saying goodbye to her sister and the rest of their friends in Suna. But it certainly wasn't a bad surprise, not at all in fact. Of the many Seals Naruto had placed everywhere, this might just be her favorite one.

"I'm surprised you didn't Hiraishin'd us into Ichiraku's." Her fingers brushed over his neck and disappeared inside his shirt.

"Old man Teuchi forbid me to after I almost gave Ayame a heart attack once. I placed it outside instead." He told her abstinently, every sense of him concentrating on where her fingers touched him.

She arched into him when his teeth nibbled on her earlobe. Her breathing accelerated more when Naruto's mouth attacked her neck. Naruto felt her body react to him, he loved how her figure pressed into him.

"You should at least let Shikamaru and Kakashi know we are back, you are the Hokage after all." She forced the reasonable sentence past her lips brokenly; it was hard to tell him to stop, when she didn't really want him to. And with all the things he was doing to her, it was even harder to from a coherent sentence. "N-Naruto!"

"I promise it's the first thing I'll do after this." He mumbled unwilling to let her go. The blue of his eyes seemed to intensify tenfold when he looked at her for a short moment that stole her breath. He made quick process of his shirt and it dropped to the floor.

Not even a second later tickled her collar bone, when her shirt followed his. Hinata loved watching the play of the muscles on his back. His body was hard against hers and Hinata gave in.

…

"Neji, relax please. You have been tense the whole week." Tenten tried to calm her boyfriend's nerve. "Everything will work out just fine." She reassured him. "You worry too much, Hinata and Naruto will be there tonight and I'm sure she'll go over the ceremony with you again."

Neji nodded with a grim look on his face, how Tenten was able to figure out he was nervous was still a mystery to him, he hadn't said anything at all. But his shoulders were so cramped he could barely move. This whole clan leader ceremony made him more uneasy than he had anticipated. Just now he started feeling the pressure of handling a clan on his shoulders, from tomorrow on every one of his actions would be measured and evaluated and half the time he would probably be busy with arguing with the elders. Gratefully he took the cup of tea Tenten shoved in his hand, when her hand brushed against his Neji felt a little calmer than before, so he reached out and held her smaller hand in his.

Smiling she leaned her head on his shoulders, who would have guessed how terrible anxious, oh-so-cool-and-composed Neji Hyuga could get. The past week she had really only understood why Hinata demanded she got free from her duties in the Hokage's office. The preparations for Neji's inauguration had taken up most of her time. But quite to her liking and also a little to her surprise Neji was always making room for only the two of them. He took her out for dinner or to the hot springs so they could spent some time alone together away from the Hyuga compound.

Tenten was glad that Naruto had told her, while he wasn't in the office, she didn't have to be either. It was kind of funny how things worked out, only a few months ago she couldn't even imagine giving up her ninja lifestyle but now…

When Naruto had taken over the Kage's office everyone had just assumed he would be completely overwhelmed with all of the paperwork and mess things more up than Tsunade ever had. But he wasn't called the number one ninja in surprising people for nothing. Only one day after the inauguration ceremony he had sought out Tenten and asked her to teach him some quick sealing techniques so that he could get the chaos in order, and of course she had agreed to help him. It took both of them about a week to work out a system and seal all paperwork in different scrolls depending on the urgency and the topics. After they were done Naruto had asked her to stay as his personal assistant.

At first Tenten had refused saying that she wanted to stay out in the field; she was only in her mid-twenties after all. But the more she starting to think about it the more appealing the offer got. She would have a save job, good payment and regular working hours, besides all of that Neji would be very happy if she quit her active work. He obviously did not like the thought of his girlfriend in constant danger when she was on missions. Tenten had taken quite some time thinking about the pro's and con's before she asked Naruto if his job offer was still standing.

Currently she did not only hold the title of the Hokage's personal assistant but was also responsible for Konoha's weapon supplies and their new inventions. Tenten truly did love her new challenges.

Usually it was the assistant's job to accompany the Hokage to foreign countries but Hinata was clearly the better choice in this case. Either way Tenten was glad that Naruto didn't need her on this journey, since she wouldn't have liked to leave Neji behind in his current nervous state. Initially Tenten had planned to watch over the village's paperwork during his absence and look after Shikamaru and Kakashi but the organization of Neji's ceremony had taken up more time than expected.

The house was bumming and everyone was busing preparing for a huge feast. It was the first time something like this happened inside the Hyuga clan. Not only was Neji a former side-branch member but he also was the first clan head to be voted democratically.

…

Kiba raised an interested eyebrow at the panicking attempts of his girlfriend to fluffy the already fluffy pillow even more. "Hot stuff, are you sure everything is alright?"

"Perfectly fine, I don't know why you keep asking." Nervously she glanced at the mirror to check if her bun was still in place.

"Well, for starters you have a bun! A bun - like a conservative, old school top-knot - o in red. And for the past week you have been cleaning our house from the inside out every single day. You have tried to cook something and almost burned down our kitchen and you changed your outfit five times in the last hour." He started counting while moving behind her. "Don't worry so much, you look amazing. Or are you really that worried that I will embarrass you in front of your ex-teammates?"

"No! Of course not, it's just that this is the first time they will visit me and I want to impress them." She leaned back against his broad shoulders. "They never liked me staying here in Konoha very much. But it's been working out so well, for so many years they have stopped trying to convince me to go back. It's just that I want to make this a success."

"Don't worry I'll charm their pants off of them!" He kissed her temple.

"I'd actually prefer if you wouldn't." She mumbled barely audible and for a second Kiba thought she looked a little troubled.

"What did you say?" Despite his great hearing her quickly muttered words had slipped his attention.

"Nothing important." Anxiously she fingered her hair, to ensure not a lock had fallen out.

Kiba's more primal senses awakened as she turned to face him and her scent tainted the air around them. His eyes darkened as he regarded her black corset, and his hands found their way to her hips. He gripped her hard and pulled her closer so she crashed against his chest. Kiba grinned wolfishly when his hand drifted down to caress her perfect ass. "So how much time do you think…"

Karui pushed against him softly and put in some distance between them. "Not enough, they should be here any minute now."

He groaned at that and she couldn't help but feel a pleasant shiver run through her body, knowing he still wanted her that much.

The doorbell announced the guest they have been expecting and as she brushed past him she whispered slowly in his ears. A very satisfied and anticipating, very feral smirk overtook his features and he strolled after her with his eyes fixated on her glorious backside.

"Samui, Omoi!" Karui pulled her two former teammates in a hug. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Kiba extended his hand and gave Omoi a strong shake. After Karui was done hogging Samui, Kiba gave the busty blonde a flirty smile. "It's very nice to meet you."

The frown on Samui's face was replaced by a forced smile. "Thank you very much. It's also nice to finally meet you."

_Man, that's gonna take some effort. _Kiba thought frowning. He would really hate it, if Karui's precious teammates hated him.

"You look very beautiful." He complimented and made sure not to let his eyes stray anywhere but her face.

Samui shifted lightly, but seemed to appreciate his admiring comment very much. "Thank you very much, Kiba-san."

He gave her another dazzling smile. "Please I couldn't bear such formality coming from such a stunning woman. Kiba will be sufficient."

Samui looked slightly flattered, but still suspicious. "Kiba it is then."

Proudly he looked over the Karui and found her staring blankly at the floor. Then she looked at with a timid smile. At his questioning raised eyebrow she just shook her head.

"Damn you're good." Omoi whispered to him as they made their way into the living room.

No one could say that Kiba wasn't trying his best. He had spent the entire evening talking to Karui's former teammates, and he been attentive and nice and asked interested questions. He and Omoi had hit it off good; that guy was funny and Kiba and he didn't run out of stuff to talk about.

Samui was another matter. Kiba had a hard time to get through to her. It had taken him quite some charming words and some cups of sake but in the end she had to surrender to his charisma.

"I'm telling you, Karui was such a cute little girl. And she totally disliked guys." Samui leaned over the table, her huge rack pressed flat against the wood.

Kiba smiled brightly at her words. He really wanted to know all about Karui and this was a golden opportunity, he just needed to be careful or else his girlfriend would catch on and stop his inquisition. He only slipped in the occasional question about Karui while enquiring her teammates about themselves.

"I didn't have a problem with guys. As long as they are not perverts like you, Omoi." Samui poked her teammate in the ribs.

"Oi, I resent that." The dark skinned man opposed.

Kiba laughed. "I bet you didn't have trouble with men." He winked at the blonde and she smiled back at him.

Karui started to put the dishes together with a loud thud. "Sorry." She apologized uncomfortable. After declining Kiba's offer to help she made her way to the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later, but didn't sit back down.

Kiba wasn't sure exactly what it was but Karui seemed very agitated. Her hands shook slightly as she held her glass and he shot her a worried glance which she didn't see.

"Well, I'll bring out dessert then." She smiled a fake smile and proceeded to the kitchen.

"I'll help you." Kiba was in the process of getting up when his girlfriend stopped in the doorframe.

"No that's fine. I'll manage." She declined his offer again and instead gestured for him to sit down.

The red head practically ran into the kitchen, desperate to get away from the dining room. When she finally reached her destination Karui took a deep breath and gripped the counter so hard her knuckles turned white. It was ridiculous and she should not be behaving like a sixteen year old virgin but something about this evening made her uneasy and old suppressed memories came back up.

A small little yelp made her look up.

"Igi?" She bent down to pick up the cute little puppy and held her in her arms. "You could sense wasn't feeling so good? You're such a good girl!" She whispered into her dog's ear.

"How did you get in here? Wasn't Akamaru supposed to watch you in the garden?" She wondered a little louder.

A low bark from the open window drew her attention to the large white dog, which did not look even a little bit guilty about letting his small protégée escape from his watch.

"Ah, that's what's taking you so long." Kiba's voice interrupted her giggling. "Akamaru weren't you supposed to make sure Igi stays out of the house until our guests are gone?"

A happy bark was his answer and Kiba took Igi from Karui to hand her over to his teammate who took the little one carefully by the neck. Together they trotted back to the giant dog house.

"Hey Karui, is everything alright?" His voice was unusual soft and he carefully put a loose strand that had escaped her perfectly shaped bun behind her ear.

"Everything's fine I'm just a little on edge I guess." She took a step back and he didn't like the distance she put between them one bit.

Kiba frowned at her. "I know that this is not the whole story. So will you please tell me, hot stuff?"

Small, dainty hands trembled slightly. "It's nothing really."

Kiba took one step towards her and pulled the hair pins out of her lush red locks, causing it to fall down her bare shoulders like waterfalls.

"I like it open." He murmured against her ear shell, making his deep voice resonate throughout her whole body and her breath hitched in her throat.

His forehead leaned against hers and the look in his eyes turned serious again. "This conversation is not over. Something is bothering you and we'll talk about it later."

With that he picked up the plates and left the kitchen.

…

The mirror showed long deep red hair, intense golden eyes, a cute button nose, soft chocolate skin and high cheekbones. She had thrown on one of Kiba's oversized tees and simple red panties underneath. Karui grimaced at her reflection and turned away to throw herself into their big bed.

"So, Igi and Akamaru are fast asleep in the living room." Kiba flopped down next to her after disregarding his pants and his t-shirt.

Karui turned the light switch off. "Good night, then."

"Oh, I don't think so." Her boyfriend switched the light right back on. "There's still something we need to talk about."

Karui had really thought or more like hoped he had forgotten about it.

"It was really nothing, Kiba." She turned on her back and stared at the ceiling.

"Yeah, right." He snorted and propped on his arm to look at her.

Her heart was beating loudly in her ears and she flushed with embarrassment. She was being ridiculous and the thought of telling Kiba was humiliating.

"Hot stuff, what's wrong?" This time his voice was laced with concern. He caressed her cheek and glanced at her golden eyes.

"It's so embarrassing." She whispered. Suddenly she turned to him and buried her face in his chest.

"What are you talking about? You can tell me anything." Kiba stoke her hair, seriously worried about her.

He had never seen her like this and it did not sit well with him that she refused to confine in him.

"You have to promise not to look at me." She kept her face hidden in his chest.

She drew a deep breath making goose-bumps appear all over his body. He really hoped she would spill the beans soon, because the promise she made to him before her damn teammates had to interrupt, kept replaying in his mind.

"It's kind of stupid. You know it just that…" She had really no idea how to put it in words. "Ok, I really love Samui you know, but she's just very…. Every guy I liked was always into her because of her - you know. And I guess that I feel kind of inferior to her and…"

Kiba could hardly believe what she was saying, He had never seen her insecure. She was normally confident and very aware of how incredible hot she was. He frowned, Hinata for example was also well endowed in the chest department but Karui had never felt uncomfortable around his former teammate, it had to be Samui.

He couldn't help himself, he started laughing in her hair. It started out softly but soon he was shaking.

Outraged she jerked her head back, "You ass! I'm spilling my soul to you and you laugh at me!" She started hitting against his chest, which lost quite a lot of impact due to her close proximity.

"Calm down." He snatched her hands and pulled her closer. "His laughter died quickly when he noticed the tears prickling in her beautiful eyes.

"I'm sorry, I swear. I didn't mean to laugh at you." He caught her eyes with his gaze. "But Karui, it's not like she has anything on you." He rolled his eyes. "I mean yeah sure her breast are like super-amazing and I'd totally go for that."

"Geez, thanks Kiba, I feel a lot better now."

"Come on, we both know I'm an ass-guy!" He wiggled an eyebrow at her. "Karui, seriously, you are the hottest woman I have ever met. I mean you practically scream sex. That girl may have a huge chest but she's really boring, you have to stare at her chest just to get rid of the boredom."

"You didn't seem bored. You and her seemed to be having a great time."

"Wait a second. Don't tell me you're jealous?" His eyes widen considerably. "You know I was just trying to impress your teammates. They are an important part of your life and I want them to accept us."

She smirked regardless of her itching need to cry. "You were worried they wouldn't like you?"

"Apparently I wasn't as worried as you were. Don't turn this around. This isn't about me."

"Well, it is a little hard to forget when guys ever only talked to you because they were into your teammate. And you know it's not easy having a flat chest as a woman!"

"Mmhh…Were those guys blind?" Kiba buried his head in her neck and kissed her collarbone. "But I guess that is my luck. Besides apart from her chest, the rest of her is only so-so. You are smoking and I'm crazy for every part of you."

"See **now** I know that you only say that because you want sex."

"I agree with the second part of that statement!"

She giggled as his fingers brushed the sensitive part of her ribs. She ran her fingers over his chiseled chest and he growled at her. His lips found her throat and a deep groan rocked through her body.

He looked down at her again. "Seriously Karui, I love you and ever since I've met you you're the only woman I ever thought about."

…

Naruto was in an incredibly good mood today, after getting back from Suna this morning, he had just spent the perfect past-morning with Hinata until she insisted on checking in and let people know they were back. It shouldn't take too long; after all, it had only been a week so the paperwork should not be too overwhelming. He glided up the stairs and opened the door to his office, and right there he froze.

. HELL!?

Had someone broke into his office? It looked trashed; papers were flooding his desk and half opened scrolls lying next to it… Kakashi and Shikamaru were so dead!

While he was plotting certain peoples deaths Naruto flopped down into his chair and let out a heavy sigh before digging himself into the paperwork. A good revenge needed time, and maybe just maybe he would consult Hanabi on this special matter, but for now there was nothing he could do but work it out himself.

…

Hinata took the cup of tea from her cousin's hands.

"Are you nervous?" She blew a soft puff on the steaming liquid.

Neji sighed. "I'm feeling better, Tenten talked to me. But yes I still am quite nervous."

"You don't have to be. You will be doing great tonight."

"I agree." The deep voice of Hiashi Hyuga filled the room. "You will do very well, son."

A small smile played around his lips at the compliment from the soon to be ex-Hyuga head.

"So Hinata, why did you ask to meet?" Her father joined her at the table.

The oldest daughter of the family squirmed uncomfortable; she would have very much preferred to let Hanabi tell them personally. "Neji, you may want to take a seat as well. This will most likely take some time." _Besides that, I think you should better sit down to hear that._

Hinata set down her cup, "It seems that Hanabi started a relationship in Suna." She wasted no time and cut straight to the point.

Her father looked her sharply in the eyes while Neji remained silent.

"Is that so?" Hiashi's calm tone cut through the silence. There was a hard edge to his voice. "And who might that man be?"

"It would appear that the man Hanabi has chosen to be with… in a permanent relationship is…" Hinata bit her lips and fidgeted in her chair. "She's with the current Kazekage." She finally pressed out in one quick breath.

"Excuse me!" Neji shot up enraged. "Since when has this been going on?"

"Neji please calm down, it is a relatively new development. They have been seeing each other for the past two months."

His mouth opened and closed again. Two months? That was a long time, especially considering he and his uncle had visited Suna recently.

Wait a second! His eyes widen in realization.

…

"_Are you used to Suna already, Hanabi?" Hiashi asked his daughter as they were strolling through Suna to get a small tour of the new place his daughter lived. _

"_Yes, finally. It took me some time but my sleeping patterns have adapted by now." _

"_It is a very beautiful town, indeed." Neji commented._

"_Yes it is." She agreed enthusiastically. "Oh, well here we are. This is the Kazekage building and the embassy district is directly next to it." _

_In this moment Gaara appeared at the entrance. "My secretary let me know about your arrival. I welcome you to Suna. I do hope you will have a pleasant stay here." _

"_I am sure we will, Kazekage-sama." Hiashi bowed to the leader of Suna. "I would also hope you and your brother would join us for dinner. I am very much looking forward to hear more about your city and the progress regarding the diplomatic relationship between Suna and Konoha." _

"_Thank you very much for the invitation, Hiashi-sama. However I have to excuse my brother, he is on a mission at the moment. But I will take your generous invitation with delight." _

_Gaara nodded a greeting to Neji and fell into step with the Hyuga family. _

"_I am making a casserole. So why don't you three sit down in the living room." Hanabi hushed them inside and shot Gaara a quick smile._

_Since she was in the kitchen she had no idea how the next events had come to happen, but Neji's loud yell of her name made her put down her knife with a frown and make her way to the three man._

_Neji was pointing at the corner of her living room in an indignant manner. And her father was piercing her with his intense stare. Only Gaara seemed impassive but when she shot him a confused look, she realized the small corner of worry in his eyes._

"_Can you explain this, Hanabi?" accusingly Neji kept his glance on her while his index finger still pointed in the corner. _

"_What are you talking about?" The brunette turned in said direction and finally found the cause of all the commotion on the floor. And just for a second she paled before getting a hold of herself. _

_There in the corner laid innocently a used condom and she did know exactly where it came from. What she couldn't explain was how it slipped through her very thorough cleaning._

"_Oh… how did that get there?" She wondered out loud._

"_Hanabi? How come there is a used condom in __**your**__ living room?" Neji asked and her father looked rather interested as well._

_She shrugged, "No idea." She played it off._

"_No idea? Don't lie to me! You are the only person living here. The only question remaining is who the other person was! Hanabi I will ask you again: Did you or did you not have sex in this room?"_

_Hanabi nodded sarcastically, "You're right, Neji. You've got me. The truth is that the Kazekage and I are having a heated affair and we are doing it like rabbits."_

_Neji stayed still for a few seconds. "You're right that's ridiculous. Most likely it was someone from your staff. You should lock your private chambers from now on."_

_Gaara had stayed impassive during the whole ordeal; it took a deep personal connection to him to see the flash of the quirk of his lips._

"_Well, that was interesting." He whispered to her when they were sitting on the dining table and her cousin and father were engaged in a deep conversation._

"_Well, you know the least likely thing people will believe is the truth. Besides now he can't complain that I didn't tell him." She grinned and her secret lover shook his head at the cold-bloodedness of Hanabi._

…

"Unbelievable. It really was them."

His uncle seemed to have come to the same conclusion judging by the way his lips were pressed in a thin line.

Unsure Hinata looked from one to the other. After she couldn't figure out what was going on, she cleared her throat to continue. "I am sure you can imaging in what position this puts the Clan and Konoha."

"Are you sure this is a serious relationship. We cannot risk to make a move unless we have to." Her father phrased is question in a very neutral manner but Hinata understood the worry in it.

"They are very much in love with each other and both of them are unwilling to back down." Hinata said and then she looked her father square in the eyes. "He loves her."

"Very well then. We have to take care of that." Hiashi declared simply.

"I assume you have some kind of strategy." As expected from a Hyuga, Neji got his emotions under control very quickly.

"So far? Only roughly sketched out." Hinata answered. "We were hoping for your help."

Hiashi agreed. "You will need all the support you can get. And you can count on us, of course. But I'm warning you, it won't be easy. The Clan has been going through some drastic changes, and I can't guarantee it will be easy to convince them. After all we have guarded the Byakugan for centuries as a treasure of Konoha."

Hinata nodded in understanding and took a sip from her tea.

When Hinata left her old home, she knew that it was still a lot to take in for her father and her cousin as well. They simply preferred to keep it in themselves and deal with it in the inside.

She regretted bringing the news on the day of Neji's ceremony but somehow she wanted to assure herself of her family's support. For now however, she'd just look forward for tonight's ceremony.

* * *

**Well, let me know what you think. Ideas, wishes, suggestion, critism or just any kind of comment is greatly appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading**


	6. Chapter 6

** Chewie Cookies: Thank you very much. I like writing them interacting all cute and stuff.**

** Kavya: Sorry for making you wait a day longer this time.  
**

** Redsox31: I'm taking it you like her? Mmmhh... Naruto forgets about that... read the new chapter.**

** Arymed: Thank you very much.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

**Also I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

**-6-**

Naruto threw his hands in the air in frustration. His office was wracked. How was it possible to make such a mess in such a short amount of time? For the past three hours he had tried to find any – just any – kind of pattern of organization, but he came up empty. Kakashi and Shikamaru had messed his system up and fled before he saw it. Oh, how he was going to hurt them. Now, he was the Avenger. Begrudgingly Naruto went on reading paper for paper and sealing them accordingly or finish it up

A quiet knock on his door made him raise his head and a gigantic smile was taking over his features despite of his anger and frustration. There was only one person in this world that knocked like that - than again there was only one person, aside from guests that actually knocked at his office's door - and she was the only person who really didn't have to knock. Naruto frowned he needed to talk to her about this - and to everyone else about their non-existing knocking habits.

"Come in." The lovely figure of his perfect girlfriend slipped through the office door. "You don't have to knock, Hinata."

"You are the Hokage and I don't think I should just come in whenever I feel like it." She said smiling.

"The point is that you are the only person I actually want in here." He got up and placed a kiss on her lips.

Hinata was shocked to see the state his office was in. Ever since he and Tenten took over the office, it had been almost spotless, even Hinata had been taken aback by this, remembering the way his apartment had been. Well, being Hokage had been his dream since forever, so maybe it wasn't that surprising considering how he was when he took his task seriously.

"What happened in here?"

Naruto's jaw clenched. "Shikamaru and Kakashi happened! I swear I will never let them ever alone in my office again. Next time I have Tenten watching over them like a bloodhound"

Hinata giggled lightly. "I'm so sorry Naruto. It's my fault since I asked you to give Tenten a vacation."

His face became rather malicious "Oh no, that's not your fault. Don't you worry; I know how to deal with them. But what are you doing here? Do you need something or did you just miss me?" He teased her and got rewarded by an exquisite blush.

"Well, I…- I missed you and was wondering why you weren't home yet, so…" She trailed off; a little embarrassed. She was interrupting his work for such selfish reasons.

"I'm glad you are here. I was close to tearing my hair out from frustration."

"You shouldn't, I love your hair. It's like sunshine." It was out before she could stop the words but after it was said her face flushed with a healthy pink.

He smirked like a fox having set his eyes on his prey and before Hinata could blink she was already sitting on his lap straddling him. "So you like my hair, huh? Let's find out if they are more things I can get you to like."

"Na-Naruto!" It was the last thing she was able to say before his lips claimed hers.

Naruto hadn't planned to turn this into a anything else but an innocent kiss but feeling her body close to his he couldn't stop himself from running his hands down her side, resting just above her perfect backside. Her scent was making him dizzy and he found that their position was not satisfying enough for him. He lifted them up from the chair and suddenly found he was glad his office was messed up. The stuff on his desk came crashing down as he swept everything off to set her down.

He loved those sweet little whimpers he could elicit from her mouth. His hand had found its way underneath her shirt and her dark silken hair sprawled out on his desk as she arched against him. Her skin was like velvet underneath his fingertips and he moaned as her hands imitated his and crawled under the fabric of his shirt to caress his abs.

His Kage robe had been stripped and landed in some corner of the office and if it was up to him her shirt would follow soon. Hinata's lips tasted like strawberry and they were swollen from his demanding kisses. He hadn't planned to take it this far in his office but it did have a certain appeal to it. The blue in his eyes darkened with desire as he looked down on her, she smiled one of those smiles that took his breath away. Somewhere deep in him a growl broke past his lips and his kisses got more urging.

It was quite understandable how they could have happened to overhear the knock on his door or maybe it was due to the fact that Naruto wasn't used to people knocking at his office door. Either way they did not hear the noise indicating someone wanted to talk to the Hokage.

They did however hear the door opening and Naruto's head shot up from Hinata's neck. "What the hell! Can't you people kno…" He choked on the word when he saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Fa-Fa-Father!" Hinata was mortified; this had to be a bad dream. She jumped off the desk and tried to compose her rumpled clothes. By now her face was so red it turned almost blue and it was just fitting that every breath had left her body.

"Hokage-sama, Hinata." Hiashi's face did not show any emotions but the look in his eyes made Naruto gulp

"Hiashi-sama, uh…I…we…"

What was he supposed to say? It's not what it looked like? Like anyone would believe that!

That was great, just great. That was definitely not the way he wanted to meet the father of his girlfriend for the first time after they had started dating.

Meanwhile Hiashi was using all of his self-control to not kill the guy that had been touching his beloved daughter just a moment ago. He clenched his teeth and reminded himself that he did like the blond and that his daughter loved him. The clan head's eyes narrowed when he saw a suspicious light purple bruise at the neck of his innocent little girl, unmistakable a hickey.

"Hokage-sama, I expect you and my daughter for dinner tomorrow night to discuss the current developments. I also understand you have certain ways to ensure the presence of my youngest daughter Hanabi, and the Kazekage." His eyes were ice cold but his voice betrayed no emotions.

"O-Of course, Hiashi-sama." Naruto stuttered out.

"Very well then I will expect you at six sharp." He kept standing in the doorframe firmly, clearly indicating that he had no intention to leave before his daughter did.

Hinata gulped and gave Naruto a faint smile before she crept past her father with her head hung in shame and the redness in her face had not faded in the least.

Hiashi send one last death glare his way before he followed Hinata.

"Yep, I am so dead." Naruto groaned, he slumped into his chair and let his head hit the wood of his bare desk.

…

"The time will come soon!" Orochimaru had been patient for the past months but sooner or later the Hyuga heiress was going to visit Kumo and this time he was personally going to make sure the plan would be executed correctly.

His ever loyal servant Kabuto smirked next to him. "It's a shame Sasuke-kun didn't make it. He would have been useful."

The snake Sannin shrugged. "We cannot change what has happened. At least Sasuke-kun didn't leak the plan."

"According to our spy network the diplomatic leader of foreign affairs is currently dating the Hokage, Naruto-kun. Do you think the Hokage will let his precious girlfriend travel alone?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Last time we had a golden opportunity; she was only travelling with one of her Clansman."

"I would not worry too much about it, his duty as Hokage will not allow him to go with her and I am confident we can take out whoever he will pick as her companion."

"I have already set the preparations in motion." The silver haired man smirked evilly.

"Excellent."

…

Hanabi tapped her foot against the wooden floor as she read the letter from Hinata. Naruto was going to pick them up with his Hiraishin half an hour before six o'clock. She was worried about dinner with her father, it wasn't that she didn't trust in Gaara, but her father wasn't an easy person to deal with. However it couldn't possibly be too bad, Gaara was doing perfectly fine compared to the situation Naruto was in. She laughed and told Gaara what had occurred in Konoha.

"How does this benefit us?" Gaara did not understand why Naruto's predicament would make meeting Hanabi's father any better.

The brunette stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "Well, my father found Hinata and Naruto making out in his office therefore Naruto will be in the firing line and not you."

"Why would I be in the firing line?"

"You do realize we are dating, right? And you do realize that that is the reason my father wants to meet you? You are the man who defiled his youngest daughter; you think he's happy about it? Besides by now they most likely know that the condom they found was ours. Therefore it is good that the event with Naruto is more current, it makes both of you an even enemy for my father."

With a quick peek on his lips Hanabi exited his, leaving a very alarmed Gaara behind.

…

Naruto paced around nervously, he was so screwed! The only thing that kept him from jumping out of the window was that Gaara had to face Hiashi today as well. He wouldn't be all alone. Still…it was unnerving. What if Hiashi decided that he wasn't allowed to see Hinata anymore?

Admittedly that wouldn't stop him but it would certainly make things complicated. And after the "incident" in his office Hiashi hated him for sure! Naruto groaned loudly.

"You don't have to be so scared." Hinata walked in from the kitchen. "My father likes you. And I know that…that w-what happened… was less than optimal, but tonight there are more important things to discuss."

"I bet he told Neji about it. He'll kill me." Naruto wailed.

"Naruto… more important matters, remember? Besides Neji will not be there for dinner, he and Tenten have date night."

"Yeah, but he'll come by later and later is plenty of time to kill me."

Hinata smiled. "I'd protect you."

Naruto stopped, his eyes softened as he looked at her. "I know, you always did."

"And I always will." Her fingers stroke over his cheek and smoothed his hair back. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

…

Gaara hadn't been able to sleep too well since Hanabi had made her innocent comment about her father. What kind of consequences would it have if Hanabi's father didn't like him? Their relationship was already very confidential and complicated enough as it was. Gaara didn't care about it that much, he wanted Hanabi and if he had to face a million obstacles to keep her, he would gladly do so.

Still, Hiashi Hyuga was her father. Maybe Hanabi was right and he should find solace in Naruto's problematic situation. At least Hiashi never found them in the middle of… It was only then that Gaara remembered that condom incident. He sighed deeply and turned to the sleeping woman next to him. Only to find her silver eyes looking at him intently and very much awake.

"You worry too much." She told him and let her finger travel through his crimson hair.

"I worry the appropriate amount, Hanabi. A lot of things can go wrong. It's not only about your father, but we need his support, the support of your whole Clan and we cannot be sure that they will give their consent to us. The Byakugan was protected and kept in Konoha by your Clan for a long time, expecting them to allow it to leave the village might be too much." He pulled her small body closer. Gaara didn't even want to think of all the other problems they were going to encounter, choosing to focus on the most pressing one instead.

"Go to sleep." Hanabi mumbled. "Everything will be fine." A yawn made it past her lips.

He could tell she was halfway asleep by the end of her sentence. Watching the steady rise and fall of her chest and listening to her deep breathing, calmed him and it wasn't long that he buried his face in her neck and fell asleep.

…

"We are Kages for heaven's sake. We should not be afraid of anyone!" Naruto exclaimed in an exasperating tone.

The red head could only agree full hearted with the blond, but it didn't change the fact that he was anxious about his meeting with Hyuga Hiashi. He had meet the Clan head in some formal meetings before but unlike Naruto Gaara didn't even know what to think of him. This was going to be horrible, he just knew it.

"Let's do this." Feigning braveness Naruto raised his hand to ring the bell. The big wooden door seemed to grow closer and in his mind the thing shared some interesting similarities with the gates of hell.

"Are you actually going to knock or will you just keep standing there like a scared chicken, oh-mighty-Hokage?" Hanabi asked flatly from behind him.

"Naruto, you don't have to worry. We are in this together." She squeezed his hand with a smile and with sudden confidence Naruto knocked on the door loudly.

Footsteps were heard from behind the door and in a sudden rush of presentment and panic hid behind Hinata.

"Very brave! Hiding behind your girlfriend." Hanabi pushed past him with Gaara who looked impassive.

"Hello Ko!" Hanabi greeted the man who opened the door.

"Good evening." The Hyuga smiled back. "Hiashi is awaiting you in the dining room." While he gave both sisters a warm smile, he only preconceived a glare to the two men.

Naruto gulped, apparently their intimacy was highly disliked not only by Hiashi. He wondered if Hiashi had told Ko about the 'office incident'.

The interior of the house never ceased to make Naruto feel intimidated. The white of the walls were only accompanied by simple silver or grey furniture or wood. Hinata had once tried to lighten it up but her suggestions were not accepted with thanks.

Hinata dragged Naruto along with a surprisingly hart grip and Naruto understood that he was not the only one with fear in his heart. One large step was all it took to catch up to her and they entered the dining room after Hanabi and Gaara side by side.

Hiashi greeted both his daughters with a quick hug and a smile. For the two men in their company he had only a glare and a nod to offer. A knife could have cut the tension in the room.

"Welcome to my home." The emphasis on the 'my' was not lost on any of them.

Hanabi sighed, it looked like it was going to a long night… and Neji wasn't even here yet.

"Shall we eat first?" It was a question but Hiashi was not expecting an objection. "I believe dinner is ready and I'd very much like to wait for Neji, as he is the Clan head."

Dinner was surprisingly pleasant, considering the lack of conversation. Naruto was too busy remembering the table manners he had begged Hinata to teach him. Her subtle hints and encouragement helped him keep his calm even after he had made slight mistakes. Everyone else was content with silence.

Hiashi observed the four young people on his table intently, still undecided if he liked the fact that those boys were dating his precious daughters. After the incident in the Hokage's office Hiashi had been very busy not to think about it or the used condom in Hanabi's home. He did know how deeply his daughters felt for these men, but as for Naruto he couldn't help but like and respect the blond for what he had done for the village but also for the Hyuga family.

As far as Gaara was concerned, the former head of the clan, was not yet sure what to think of him. Hiashi had heard a lot of things about the Kazekage and not all of them pleasant. However he could find nothing wrong with the way Gaara treated Hanabi. He was respectful and attentive. They were going to have to face difficulties with their relationship, and it wouldn't be easy for his daughter. And giving away Hanabi to a different country was not something he would like to do. So the infamous Sabaku no Gaara better was worth all the trouble.

His daughters indeed had a very different taste in men, Hiashi mused. Gaara was certainly fitting better into the Hyuga clan, from what Hiashi observed, he seemed calm and collected. He wasn't loud and held his emotions in check. Naruto on the other hand was loud and boisterous, never holding back and basically the complete opposite of Gaara. But since he had taken over the office of Hokage his attitude had toned down considerably.

Then again both men did have a lot in common. Their past had been less than pleasant and both of them respectively had had a Bijuu sealed within them or still had. Though they had dealt with it differently, both of them ended up as powerful shinobi respected by all the villages. A small smile appeared on Hiashi's lips, who would've guessed that both his daughters would end up dating Kages…very powerful Kages.

"They will have very strong children." He mumbled, not aware he said it out loud.

Hanabi almost choked on her food as she heard her father, she prayed that Gaara hadn't heard it. But he had, he just didn't know what to do with it. In the end, he was just glad, that they had her father's blessing or something like that. It would be hard enough to keep it secret, while trying to convince both Suna and Konoha of the advantages of their union. Having her father on their side would be helpful.

Naruto couldn't help but grin at his girlfriend's red face. He was sure Hiashi was completely unaware what he just said, but the rest of the table wasn't. Well, it didn't matter to him; in fact it was like Hiashi had just given him permission. He leaned closer to her and whispered in Hinata's ear.

"Yeah and they will be beautiful too."

After Hinata had calmed down from her coughing and blushing, the rest of the dinner was spent in relative silence.

"When will Neji join us?" Hinata asked after desert had been finished.

Hiashi looked up at his daughter's question. "Ah yes Hinata, I believe he said he will join us after dinner. Since his time has been cut short due to his ceremony and the associated new position, he wanted to dine with his girlfriend tonight. And they preferred their privacy."

"Actually Uncle, we have finished already and I told Tenten that I would be back later, so I'd prefer to get to the point fast." Neji marched into the room and shot a very sour look in Gaara's direction followed by a nasty one directed at Naruto, undoubtedly he had heard about the 'office fiasco'.

"I believe this is in everyone's favor." Hanabi's silver eyes nailed her cousin as if to tell him, that he better not give that look to her lover again, ever.

Her sister was sensing that Neji was about to retort and comment on the possible stages Hanabi's and Gaara's relationship was in - and in his opinion shouldn't be in -, so she decided it would be best to get back on a more factual level. In a calm voice she let her father in on what they had already deducted in Suna.

"I see, this has to be handled with utmost care." Hiashi said deep in thoughts.

"Maybe we should start by gathering allies. This seems a little too big handle by us alone." Neji proposed.

"Who are you thinking about?" Naruto asked interested.

"Kiba and Shikamaru for starters, both Clans do have an interest of their own to allow trans-boundary marriage. With those two Clans on our side the possibility to pass it is higher than without any support."

"That's a good idea. Maybe we can even get Kumo to support us, since they will benefit from a marriage with the second biggest Clan of Konoha." Hinata said slowly.

Hiashi cleared his throat, "Might I propose something? I believe it would be better if we would conceal the true actuator behind this. If we could just get all of them, the Clans, the Councils and the Countries to pass a general treaty on marriage between countries including all possible cases with or without Kekkai Genkai we would avoid the trouble of being accused to only try to broaden our influence."

"I agree." Naruto said. "A general agreement would benefit everyone and it will help keep the peace since the countries will grow closer."

The Kazekage had been quiet up until now but finally he spoke up. "I think it is a good idea to gather allies for a general agreement. Personally I think that our good relation with Stone could play out to our advantage."

The former Hyuga head raised an eyebrow. "I thought that Stone and Suna had a rather strained bond."

"Before the war, but the Sandaime Tsuchikage was very fond of me and his son, the Yondaime, respected him enough to keep his opinion in mind. We are on very good terms. Especially the skills exchange program has improved our bond greatly."

"That is very good then." Hiashi commented.

"What is the Hyuga Clans position in this matter?" Gaara asked.

Neji cleared his throat, "Well, I don't think the elders will be happy with the situation now. Our Clan has sacrificed a lot to protect to Byakugan and keep it within Konoha." Neji stopped Naruto, who was about to speak up. "However judging from experience the Clan has always put Konoha's needs first, there is no reason to believe this has changed. Therefore if the Village Council agrees I believe so will our Clan. Besides that, our Clan profits from a bond with the Kazekage's family. If Naruto can get the council to agree, I think the Hyuga's will follow."

Naruto nodded, "I believe I can get the council to agree to a general agreement, if it's a good one. Of course the other countries would have to agree as well."

Thoughtfully Hiashi considered everything. "I see. Then I would recommend Hinata and Hanabi to go on the international mission. Also I think it would be good to take Inuzuka with you and since the Kazekage mentioned the good relationship with Stone I guess it would be good, if you picked another member from Suna, Kazekage-sama."

"Wait." Naruto interrupted. "Why do Hanabi and Hinata have to go, wouldn't that look like we are favoring the Hyuga Clan?"

"No, since my daughter is the Head of the diplomatic bureau and Hanabi has the best diplomatic skills next to her, no one will find it unbecoming. Especially since her personal involvement is unknown. And during the time Hanabi is absent from Suna, the Nara will take her place in order to take the negotiations over. He as well has an interest to move the agreement forward. I'm sure his mother can take over the Nara Clan in his absents."

"But won't it be weird if Suna and Konoha work so closely together?" Hanabi worried out loud.

Neji spoke up to answer his cousin, "Not if every country we can persuade adds their own member to the squad. It will make it look like the idea originate in Konoha and Suna is the first country to agree to it. We should albeit make sure that no country feels excluded. Which is why, we should send out general informative letters with the proposal and the date of the arrival in each country."

"And we'll start in Kumo, since they are most likely to agree. Considering we have Kiba in the squad. He then could go home after the deal with Kumo's done, so that they are not too many people from Konoha and instead someone from Kumo will travel with us to Iwa and from there to Kiri!" Hanabi finished the plan.

"Neji and I will start preparations to talk to the Clans of Konoha and the elders and Naruto, you will persuade the Council. Hanabi, Gaara you have to make sure you're relationship does not leak!" Neji concluded and leaned back contently.

Everyone took a deep breaths and unspoken thought shared between them. _This will be one hell of a journey._

…

"Well this certainly was an interesting evening." A small smile tugged on Gaara's lips as he slipped his arm around Hanabi's waist.

Naruto had already brought them back to Suna. And they had made themselves comfortable on his bed.

"Indeed." She agreed. "I have to admit, that I didn't think it would go so smoothly. I'm glad tough. My father and Neji will support us. From tomorrow onwards we'll talk to the people from the Suna council and we'll get them one after another. Hinata and I did do that back in Konoha when we tried to abolish the cursed seal."

"I hope it will be that easy." Gaara did not like having to keep their relationship a secret. Mostly because he was not happy about all those idiotic, lecherous men to lust after **his **girlfriend while he could do nothing about it. Then again, he was fairly sure that she could handle herself. Most of the time one evil glare from him should do the trick, whether or not their relationship was official.

* * *

**Comments? Suggestions? Remarks? Critism? Ideas? Things you noticed? Something you'd like to say? Noticed a mistakes? **

**Let me know.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

** Kavya: Thank you so much. I'm really happy you like it. Also two more stories are about to come. I'm already writing on one.**

** Chewie Cookies: Thanks, I wasnt sure if Hiashi's reaction was realisitc.**

** Redsox31: That's exactly what he wants. Also why I didn't bring him up for so long, because he didn't do anything to make everyone forget the treath he poses. Glad to know it worked, thanks.**

** Arymed: Thank you, I hope I won't dissapoint, but that's what I'm most afraid of to mess up.  
**

**For the four of you who read the story, Chapter 7.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

**-7-**

"Kankuro, could you stop that." A vein popped on Sakura's forehead as she shoved him away for the millionth time that day.

"Come on, don't be mean. Why won't you share?"

"That's because Hanabi made them for me and for me only. Ask her yourself if you want some."

"I would but for reasons unknown, my irresistible charms won't work on her. And she said that unless I would 'Stop being an idiot and man up already' I would no longer receive any of her baking." The tall man whined. "And I have no idea what she means by that."

"Can't you ask one of your bimbos to bake you something?" Sakura asked annoyed.

"Are you crazy?" He exclaimed her in shock. "I am not in a relationship with any of them. If I would ask them to do something like that they would get the wrong impression of where this if going!"

Sakura really tried to ignore the happy little flutter in her chest. It was actually quite pathetic of her just to be happy from simply hearing him say what she already knew. He didn't care about those women. Even more pathetic was that she was jealous of them, despite knowing that. Out of the corner of his eyes she looked at him. He wasn't scheduled on a mission, which was why is handsome face was bare of his hideous face paint. She hated how good-looking he was, his charming smile that made her knees weak and especially that stupid glint in his eyes whenever he saw an attractive woman. The last one was worst of course because these devilishly attractive looks were never directed at her.

Had she not been so busy staring at his sculpted chest, she might have seen the desire she longed for in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Come on, please. I want just one!" Kankuro begged.

"Fine I will give you one, **but**…" Sakura turned to him defiant. "I wonder what will I get in return?"

Kankuro's eyebrow rose and he leaned over the table she was sitting at. "Oh… what would you want?"

Sakura gulped at the closeness of his face. He smelled good, really good. Usually it was hard to tell, since the stench of perfume from various women was always following him. A thing that seemed to happen less frequently. She was absolutely unable to form even a word. He was way to close. His large form hovered over her sitting figure.

Kankuro's brown eyes sparkled as he leaned in a little closer to her and to his delight he saw how her green eyes dilated and her breath hitched in her throat. His eyes darted to her pink lips, so damn inviting and so damn close. All he had to do was to bypass the short gap between her lips and his.

In a sudden panic she shifted her chair back and enlarged the distance between them. "You know what I'm not hungry anymore. You can have them."

Sakura turned and fled leaving a disappointed and confused Kankuro behind.

…

"I don't like that, Hinata!" Naruto complained.

During the entire walk home he had strongly expressed his displeasure about Hinata leaving the village without him.

"I know, Naruto, but I would have needed to leave anyway. I won't be gone for too long." Hinata turned around in his arms to face him. "It'll only take like one or two months."

"Are you crazy? Only? I can't be that long without you."

Her face sported a scarlet blush and she buried her face in his chest. "I'll miss you too."

"Hinata I'm serious. What if something happens to you?" He looked at her, his eyes filled with concern.

"Naruto, this is just a diplomatic mission. There's nothing that can happen. And with Kiba and Kankuro there are two Jounin there in case something goes wrong. And even then my sister and I are anything but defenseless."

"I know that, but…" _**I**__ want to make sure you're safe. _"I'm just worried."

He leaned his forehead against hers, staring in the deeps of her lavender tinted orbs. "Why can't I come with you?"

"Because you are the Hokage, you can't just go along on a mission. Not only because your girlfriend goes."

"But this mission is like super important. Besides I wouldn't go. I'd sent a shadow clone and if something happens he would dispel and with this nice accessory I'll be there in no time." He softly kissed the spot behind her ear where he had marked her with a Hiraishin seal. "And of course I'd leave a clone in Konoha if something should happen."

"Naruto." She smiled softly at her blonde boyfriend. "I know you wouldn't endanger anyone, but still. It sends the wrong message if the Hokage takes along. Besides it would raise suspicion as to how this is so important. That is precisely what we want to avoid."

He growled at that. He was not pleased. If it was up to him, he would have either never let her leave the village or be there with her personally.

"I'm sorry." She looked at him bashfully. Her eyes darted down uncertainly.

He buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath. "Just please be careful."

"It's just a diplomatic mission. Nothing will happen." Her dainty fingers caressed his skull and dragged her fingers down to his neck. He groaned at the contact and pressed his head against her fingers. "And you're not allowed to just use the seal to drop by to check on me, ok?"

"But what if I feel really lonely?" His voice was coarse and it sent a jolt of pleasure through her body. His mouth had found her neck while his fingers played with the hem of her dress. His searching hands had ridded it up all the way to the middle of her tights.

Her head fell back and she allowed him access to every part of her throat. "Then you'll just have to go to one of your many, many friends and think about how I will back very shortly. I'll miss you too, very much." She whispered breathlessly.

"Yeah, 'Nata that won't do." He crushed her slender figure against his body.

"B-but…," She tried to protest.

"It's so cute when you stutter." His hot breath made her shudder.

She gasped when she felt his lips trailing down her throat to find her pulse point. The kitchen counter poked her back as he caged her in with his arms on either side of her.

"I won't see you for weeks. I think you have a lot to make up for."

Hinata had trouble speaking since her mind was still occupied with all the pleasure cursing through her body. "I haven't even left yet."

"We'll call this credit, then."

…

"Neji, what are you doing here?" Surprised Shikamaru invited the Hyuga head inside his house.

"Good afternoon, Shikamaru. I hope I do not disturb you."

"Nah, not really. I mean I was about to take a nap, but I could to that later – I guess."

Neji nodded. "Temari is working, I assume."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Yes, do you need to talk to her or something?"

"No I need to talk to you. And it would be preferable if Temari would not know about this."

"Well, that sounds troublesome. Sit down. You want something?"

"No thank you."

Shikamaru joined Neji at the couch and when the brunette Hyuga did not talk, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Do you plan to marry Temari?" Neji looked Shikamaru square in the eyes.

Taken of guard, Shikamaru could do nothing but to stare at Neji. That guy sure got to the point fast.

"I am not sure how this is any of your business Neji. Why would you care?"

The man did not answer, but his pupil-less eyes nailed Shikamaru.

"Troublesome. Yes, I guess I have been thinking about it. Especially since Lee pulled this crap and got the entire female population of Konoha thinking of marriage and babies and stuff. But it won't be easy. She's from another village. While we are only dating there are no strings attached yet, but once we're engaged it's gonna be a pain."

Neji nodded in understanding. "Exactly."

The Nara Clan head mustered his counterpart of the most influential Clan in Konoha. "Why the sudden interest?"

"Recently Hinata has come up with a proposal to solve the problem of relationships like yours. She asked me to rely the message to you. And acquire the information necessary. Therefore Shikamaru, I am here to ask you, what you think of it and where you would see room for possible adjustments." He pulled out a copy of the contract to present it to Shikamaru.

"You know that is a lot to read. These are like fifty pages… oh great, back and front."

"Basically it proposes the idea to open the possibility for cross-border marriages."

Something was not right and Shikamaru had no idea what it was. "This makes no sense Neji. Why are you here? If this was indeed Hinata's idea then why isn't she here. As far as I know the Hyuga Clan should have nothing to do with cross-border relationships."

"I am simply here because you have experience. You may can help distinguish flaws in the contract and Hinata sent me because she is busy."

"Now, you see, Neji. This sounds logical, yet I don't think Hinata would put off something important like that."

Neji sighed, he should have known Shikamaru would figure out something was up. He could either make up another lie or let Shikamaru know about Hanabi's relationship. "Listen what I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room under no circumstances. You can't tell Temari about this either."

"This sounds like I rather not know. It's a pain, isn't it?"

"That is one way to put it." Neji agreed. "It seems that Hanabi and the Kazekage are an item."

Shikamaru blinked a few times. "Wait a second. Are you telling me that your little cousin is dating the brother of my girlfriend?"

He groaned when he saw Neji's pointed look. "I shouldn't have asked. This is a lot more troublesome than I would have guessed."

"I guess you see the position this puts us in."

"Basically you're saying that you will help everyone with a cross border relationship in exchange for letting someone with the doujutus of the Hyuga Clan marry outside the village."

"That would be putting it a little too simple."

"Damn, now I understand what you want here. You wouldn't need the Clan council's agreement on this contract, but if a Kekkai Genkai is about to leave the village… Especially since the Hyuga Clan is already way too influential. The other Clans won't just leave this be. Crap, Neji do you have any idea what position you are putting me in?"

"I understand the complexity of this situation very well, and as you can tell this matter has to be handled very delicately." The Hyuga head shot a pointed glance at the Nara.

"Listen Neji, I'm grateful for this contract but considering the position of the Hyuga Clan it will be hard for me to explain to my Clan why I wouldn't oppose such a union. Trust me, though it would be even harder to explain to Temari why I deprive her brother of a woman he is willing to commit to. So you better give me a damn good reason to support that relationship."

Neji smirked and raised from his seat. "Like I said, the relationships won't be an issue. Once the contract is approved everyone independent of their Clan heritage can marry outside of Konoha…"

"But the Clans would want to know who is involved and once Hanabi's name comes up, their less likely to agree. I get that, but why are you even telling me this? Wouldn't it be easier to leave their relationship out of it and pretend like they only gotten together after the approval of the contract. And secondly that contract is village matter, the Clan council shouldn't have a say in it."

Neji nodded and took a few steps to look out the window. "I agree. Unfortunately Hinata isn't willing to lie and I agree with her. A scam will always see the day of light and when it comes out the chorus of outrage will be great. Not only will the Hyuga Clan look like they have only been thinking of their personal gain, but also Naruto's position will be put in jeopardy. No one will believe he didn't know about Hanabi and Gaara. Basically the risk not to tell is higher than the risk of having the contract not approved. As for your second concern again Hinata insist on asking the Clans, she thinks it's vital for Konoha's inner peace that the Clans are asked in this matter."

"I understand." Shikamaru viewed him thoughtfully. "But that doesn't solve my problem. I still need to make my Clan agree and I'm not entirely sure my relationship with Temari will be enough."

"You honestly think they'd let the opportunity slip to marry into the Kazekage's family?"

Shikamaru sighed. "I don't know. I might be the Clan head, but if the majority of my Clan thinks the risk of having a super powerful Hyuga is bigger than the loss of an outside relationship, there won't be anything I can do."

"Shikamaru, the Hyuga Clan is not only the oldest of the Clans in Konoha but also the most loyal. I don't think I have to remind you of the sacrifices my Clan has shouldered in order to ensure Konoha's safety. Very personal sacrifices." His eyes, intense like a rainy day cloud bore into Shikamaru's dark ones.

"So you're saying that Konoha owns this to the Hyuga Clan?"

"What I am saying is that maybe you should consider, that the Hyuga Clan has never attempted to use their position or power for anything else than Konoha's sake and we have no reason to change it." The Hyuga head frowned. "And you should also realize how much the Clan has accomplished since Hinata took over the diplomat position. Broadening our friendship with other villages will ultimately only favor the Leaf."

Shikamaru face still spoke of uncertainty.

"But maybe if you are looking for a more practical reason to justify you're support on that matter…then your Clan might want to take into account that if you are to marry Temari and the relationship between my cousin and you're wife's brother should last…"

"We would ultimately be related to the mightiest Clan in Konoha." Shikamaru smiled broadly. "Now we're talking, Neji. I think I can sell that. And I won't have to tell Temari it was my fault her brother will die old and alone."

"That is indeed very fortunate." Neji was satisfied with this development. "That leaves me with only one more matter left to discuss. As you understand this is also an international matter and Hinata has decided to take this into her hand. She will travel to Suna first to pick up Hanabi with Kiba and most likely Kankuro. They will travel to Kumo and Iwa and then to Kiri. But someone should take over the office in Suna and lead the negotiations with the Suna council together with the Kazekage."

"And of course I would be perfect for that. Considering that the relationship between your cousin and Gaara will only become relevant after this contract has been approved off in the respective countries." Shikamaru rubbed his temple. "Don't worry I won't leak the information."

Questioning Neji raised an eyebrow. His earlier question was left unanswered. "I understand that your duty's a Clan head…"

"No, don't worry about that, my mom loves to boss everyone around. She'll do fine as my replacement for my absence. It's troublesome but I'll do it. Naruto is in on this?" The Nara Clan head sighed.

"You know it." Neji smirked.

"Would you like something to drink now?"

"I guess one drink wouldn't hurt. Just make it cold, Shikamaru."

…

Lee rang the doorbell and waited impatiently for Neji to open the door. To his surprise it was not his former male teammate that opened the door, but rather the female member of his team.

"Ah Tenten, how splendid to see you! Is Neji available?"

"I'm afraid he is out, but he should be back any minute now. Come on in, you can wait inside." Tenten left the door open for him.

"I heard the ceremony for Neji was beautiful. It is really a shame only Clan members are allowed to participate."

"It was. Neji and Hinata had to talk the elders into it for a week to let me at least observe the ceremony. But it was very Hyuga like, you know? Formal and stiff and you know just very, very formal. But it was great nonetheless. Kind of moving how secretly emotional it was." The brunette put a glass of juice on the table in front of Lee.

"Thank you very much. Tell me, how have you been? It feels like I haven't seen you in forever."

Tenten smiled at her former teammate, since they dissipated their old teams they had not talked as much as they did before. When Lee started to date Karin, Tenten basically only saw him when they were trained together, something they still regularly did.

Their little catch-up talk got interrupted with the opening and closing of the door.

"Ah, that should be Neji. I'll leave you guys to it. I'm supposed to meet Temari in a bit anyway." Tenten got up and went to meet Neji on his way in.

"Hello Lee." Neji entered the living room after biding his goodbye to his girlfriend, who had told him to step by her place later.

"Good afternoon Neji. I came here with an important request."

"Go ahead, what is it?"

"I was hoping you would agree to be my best man."

Neji lifted an eyebrow. "Lee thank you very much for considering me. It will be an honor for me to witness your wedding."

His conversation partner beamed at him. Neji saw the hug coming but he was unable to avoid it, no matter how desperate he tried to escape the inevitable.

"Karin will be thrilled."

Neji shifted uncomfortable in the hug, thinking that this lasted way to long. He stood there stiff just waiting for it to be over. Besides the mention of Lee's fiancé made him always a little edgy. It might have to do with her saving his life, which, in his book, meant that he owned her his life. And stuff like that was bound to make a proud man like Neji a little uncomfortable.

…

_Hinata's eyes darted around in panic as she searched the battle field with her Byakugan. They had successfully defeated Obito and put Madara back in the ground where he belonged. _

_When her eyes stopped at a familiar figure she mustered up her last strength and ran toward her father. _

"_Where…?" Hinata didn't need to finish her sentence because her father was thinking the same thing._

"_Neji?" His pale eyes met hers with equal worry. He activated his Byakugan and stretched their extent to his maximum. "Let's go. I have located him._

_She was exhausted and her legs felt like jelly, but at the prospect of seeing Neji, all that seemed forgotten. Her throat restricted, her father hadn't said anything about his condition. She had heard that Lee had brought him away to get healed, but last she had seen Neji it hadn't looked good. Tears swelled up in her eyes and she did her best to ignore that sting in her eyes by blinking it away frantically. Her feet blindly followed her father, she wanted to activate her bloodline limit, but she had to retain her urge to see if her cousin was nearby and if his chakra flared up, in favor of saving her last power to reach him. _

_They finally reached a clearing and her eyes immediately fixated on the body of her brother figure on the ground. Hinata stumbled the last few steps and fell down next to Neji. By now tears stained her face and she was shaking in fear. _

"_N-Neji?" Barely above a whisper with a voice hoarse and weak, she chanted his name like a mantra over and over again. "Please be alright. Please wake up." She begged, there was blood, it was just everywhere. Staining the soil and sticking to his hair and hers as well as she clutched his body. _

_The blood on her hands made her panic even more. Hinata was unable to suppress the trembling of her hands. Her whole body shock and she clenched his shirt to cry in his chest. Strong hands preyed her away from him and Hinata found herself crying into a man's chest, who she had given up some time ago. Her father's hands stroke her head soothingly as he tried to keep his posture when he looked down at the body of his beloved brother's son._

"_I think he's going to be ok." A soft voice made them look up. "He's just tired and needs to sleep. I know his chakra is weak right now, but all it really takes is time." Karin was tired, healing Tsunade and then Neji had used up a lot of a chakra, but somehow seeing the relief in those people's eyes made her smile. _

_The red head staggered in exhaustion but instead of meeting the ground in a rather unpleasant way she felt two strong arms holding her up. She blinked only to stare into two deep black eyes full of gratitude for her. She remembered those eyes, they belonged to the young man, who had raced to her at an amazing pace with the Hyuga member slung over his shoulder and begged her to save him. Tiredly Karin smiled up at him. _

"_You know I really like your eyes." And right then the darkness to over and she let the fatigue claim her._

…

_Hinata hadn't moved from her spot next to her cousin's bed since they had transferred him to one of the medic camps. _

_It had almost been two days and the only thing that made her keep hope was the constant peeping sound that indicated Neji was still alive That and the regular movement of his chest._

"_I really wish you would wake up already, Neji." She bit back her tears. "I know that things between us have not always been easy, but I miss you. I was such a nuisance and it wasn't always easy… And I know th-that training me was probably the hardest thing you ever had to do, but I appreciated it so much. And I … I valued our training over everything. You've been really patient and I know that must have been hard, s-since I really suck at the gentle fist, but you didn't give up training me." _

_She whipped away her tears angrily._

"_I really love you. I know you don't think like that, but for me you have always been my brother."_

"_I appreciate it." _

_Her head shot up at lightning speed. "Neji!" _

_She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest. _

"_I love you too, sister."_

_She turned to face him and smiled brightly. "Thanks, brother."  
_

"_If you tell someone I will deny it to the bitter end." _

_Hinata couldn't help it, despite of her tears she laughed._

* * *

**Well just let me know what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to everyone who reviewd. You're awesome.**

** chrysant: One more chapter to go and a then Shikatema moment will be coming your way. **

** Chewie Cookie: I love their bond too. I think Neji is really important to Hinata and vice versa. Glad you liked the Naruto Hinata interaction... more in this chapter.  
**

** Arymed: You're not entirely wrong, but before that I few happy moments in this chapter.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

**-8-**

"So, we've got the green light from Shikamaru. He'll come and work with you to convince the council." Hanabi stretched her limbs. "He must really love your sister, because he'll support the proposal while knowing we are together."

"I should hope so." Gaara sighed and sat down on the couch.

Lazily Hanabi strolled over to Gaara and took a seat in his lap, like it was the most normal thing in the world…which it was – for her anyways.

"I'm not entirely happy to let go alone." Gaara entangled his fingers in her hair to play with her dark locks.

"I won't be alone. Hinata and Inuzuka will be there and besides your brother will be with me too." She snuggled against him and smiled tiredly.

"This is partly what worries me." He muttered silently.

"Because your brother takes along with me?"

"Yes. He tends to get distracted a lot."

"Let me guess. Women?"

Gaara just shook his head in annoyance. He knew Kankuro was the best choice to go with her, he was after all the strongest shinobi in Suna, next to him. In addition was it the puppet master, who had great connections to the Stone. For him to negotiate the deal, it should be a given that the son of the Sandaime and current Tsuchikage would agree,

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that anymore, though." Hanabi grinned.

"Meaning?"

"Let me put it that way. When was the last time Kankuro brought a woman home?"

"I guess like two weeks ago."

Her expression showed that she was clearly waiting for something more. And with a nod she encouraged him to think further.

"I do suppose that it is a rather long timespan as opposed to his past intervals."

Hanabi was running out of patience and just told him. "Of course, because it's obvious that he is totally into Sakura!"

"They seem to dislike each other." Gaara pointed out.

His girlfriend shook her head at this. "No, that would be their way of getting rid of the sky rocking sexual tension." She grinned happily.

"I highly doubt that." He smiled at her enthusiasm and gave in the temptation to touch her. His fingers ran up and down her arm. "I wonder how Naruto will deal with Hinata gone for so long. He was complaining about it the minute we left your father's house."

"Mmhh…" Hanabi hummed. She shifted uncomfortable in his lap.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing really." She said slowly. "I'm just being stupid for worrying over nothing."

"You're worried that the plan won't work out?"

She laughed softly in his chest and he smiled at the pleasant vibrations it caused in his body. "No, it is funny how I'm not worried about that too much. I guess I do have faith in our combined abilities."

Gaara frowned slightly; he wished he could share her optimism. Nuzzling her neck he urged her to continue.

"It's silly, but I am a little worried about Hinata, I guess." She squirmed a little while she was searching how to put it in words. "She's been into Naruto ever since she was like, I don't know twelve or something and … I'm just afraid that she will go out of her way to please him. I mean what if he asked something of her that she rather not do and that she would be too afraid to tell him and …" She trailed off, unsure how to proceed with her trail of thoughts.

"You think Naruto would force her to do something she doesn't want?"

"Not exactly. More like she wouldn't let him know and he wouldn't get that she dislikes it. Like she'd make a compromise or accept something she wouldn't want only because he wants it."

"I doubt that'll happen." His green eyes held hers.

Hanabi shrugged and leaned into him. "It's just because I've seen her pinning after him all of her life and he only recently discovered his feelings for her. Don't get me wrong, Gaara, I know he loves her…"

"But you're afraid she loves him more than he loves her."

"No, well … maybe. I don't know it's hard to put it." She told him frustrated.

"Because you've known of her feelings all your life but not of his, it makes sense." He mumbled into her hair. Gaara picked her small frame up and set her down. Surprised she looked up at his tall figure.

"I have to show you something."

Trusting her to follow him, he left the room. She hurried to catch up with him, but her confusion only increased when they crossed the small path outside that led to the Kazekage building.

"Are we finally going to have sex in your office?" She asked exited.

Gaara blinked twice before the corners of his lips twitched ever so faintly. "I did not know that option was on the table."

"You do now!" She smiled brightly as she looked up to his face.

He pushed the door to his office open and motioned for her to go in ahead of him. Hanabi had no idea what they were doing so late at his office but Gaara seldom did things with no deeper meaning. She pushed a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as she watched his lean muscular form looking for something in his desk. When he pulled out a stack of letter, Hanabi pulled her brows together in response, with no idea what he was planning. Clearly this was going nowhere near as physical as she had initially thought and secretly hoped.

Gaara was pulling out random letters and scanned them with one look. After he had found what he was looking for he stood up and offered her the seat behind his desk.

"Read it and you can also read the ones who are dated later than that one."

Silently and with no clue where this was going her delicate hands picked up the first letter he had showed her and the one after that and the one after that.

Her eyes widen at every word and she smiled gently. She set her hand down with the fifth letter still in her hands. "Thank you, Gaara."

"He keeps going on and on like this in every letter since two years ago." He told her, referring to the correspondence between him and Naruto. "He wrote so much about your sister; it felt like I was writing with her rather than with him."

"Thank you." Hanabi said earnestly.

Gaara nodded, "I thought it would make you happy. He might not have realized it, but he's been in love with her for quite a long time."

Hanabi got up and threw her arms around his neck, "It's not just that, but the way he's writing about her. Like he watches her every move, he understand every detail about her and sees what she wants even if she doesn't say it. I guess I really was very wrong." Her lips softly connected with his and she kissed him deeply. "Thank you so much for showing me this."

She sighed happily and took a step back; she had taken three steps towards the door before his sand overtook her and slammed the door shut. With an eyebrow raised she turned back to him.

His tall figure leaned against the table casually and her breath caught in her throat at the intense burning in his eyes. "Now about that option you mentioned before."

…

Snow white fingers interlaced in a relaxed manner. Orochimaru rested his head on top of his fingers pleased with the latest report.

"I see you have already received the news."

"Indeed I have. Not only do we get to take out the main ambassador of foreign affairs of Konoha, but also her second in chain, who also possesses the Byakugan."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Still, the Inuzuka will be with her and the course of the course of their journey worries me. They are taking detours in order to visit the countries in a certain order. Not to forget that we have no information of the purpose of their journey. Whatever it is, they want to keep it a secret. It might be worth investigating."

The Snake Sannin nodded. "Indeed, you are right. Send out some people to gather more information about it. Tell them to do whatever it takes."

"Should we still proceed as planned?"

"Of course, Kabuto, the plan still stands." Long black hair covered half of his sinister smile.

"Who do you want to send?"

"I cannot risk another disaster like with Sasuke-kun. It was luck our plan was not revealed. Maybe next time we won't be so lucky. This time I will make sure everything goes smoothly and secure myself a Byakugan on the way."

Kabuto smiled. "You can count on me, of course Orochimaru-sama. The group is supposed to leave Suna after only a two day stay and take the shortest route to Kumo." He smoothed out a map that was lying on the table. "It would be best to take them out quietly and fast. The best place to do this would be in the Land of Lightning but long before they reach Kumo. I'd suggest we do it in the mountains."

"It is decided then!"

…

"Hey Karui, could you open up, I just got out of the shower!" Kiba yelled out of the bathroom as he slung a towel around his torso.

"Igi sit." Karui ordered the dog as she got up from the floor. She had spent the last twenty minutes playing with her cute puppy and trying to teach her manners. The dog with fur as golden as her eyes wagged his tail happily and jumped around her excitedly.

"I guess, we'll have to work on that some more." She sighed and opened the front door. "Neji? To what do we own the pleasure? Please come on in."

Neji nodded courtly and hid his irritation at the bouncing puppy that barked furiously at him. In the corner Akamaru growled lightly at being woken up from his slumber by the whelp.

"Good afternoon Karui. I was wondering if I may be able to speak to Kiba."

Karui looked at him in surprise, in all the years she had been in Konoha not once had Neji wanted to talk to Kiba in private.

"Kiba! Your wanted round here!" She shouted toward the bathroom door.

Instead of a verbal response the bathroom door flew open to reveal her very sexy boyfriend in nothing but a towel. His hair was still damp and he rubbed another towel through it.

Neji was momentarily rendered speechless. It had never occurred to him that someone would greet their guests clad in nothing but a towel.

Meanwhile Karui had stepped closer to Kiba and traced the muscles on his chest with her fingertips. He grinned down broadly at her and swept her up in a kiss.

The loud clearing of a throat made him break the kiss and he chuckled when he spotted a very irritated Neji in the middle of his living room.

"Neji, what brings you here?"

"I have something to discuss with you."

"Alright then." Karui clapped her hands together, at which both dog's ears perks up. "We'll be going for a walk then."

Kiba flopped down on the couch and finally figured that Neji would not take a seat unless offered. After the Hyuga head had also sat down and refused Kiba's offer of a drink, Kiba asked what he wanted.

"Kiba, could you please put on some pants before we have this conversation."

"Right!" He sprung up from the couch and returned only minutes later with comfortable sweat pants and a grey hoodie.

Neji wasted no time and asked him in the same direct manner as he had asked Shikamaru. "Do you have any plans on marrying Karui in the future?"

Kiba almost spat out his drink and his black eyes widen. "What the…? Are you serious? What's with this question?" He shifted on the couch.

The silent penetrating gaze from unmoving pupil-less eyes made Kiba groan. "I guess that if the time is right, I wouldn't mind."

"You do realize that Karui is from Kumo?"

Kiba raised a dark eyebrow, "You don't say?" He said sarcastically. "What does this concern you? … Oh!"

It had finally occurred to Kiba; marrying Karui would not be possible because she was from another village. Somehow this thought made him seethe, she was his and even if he hadn't really thought about marriage he knew she was the only one for him. If he wasn't able to marry her then… Then what?

"I see, you have understood the position you are in. What do you intend to do?"

Kiba growled. "I'm not an idiot Neji. Obviously you are here because you have a solution."

Neji smiled lightly, Kiba might not be as sharp as Shikamaru but he certainly got a grasp on the situation fast. "I have indeed. Well, maybe it would be more accurate to say that Hinata rather than I has come up with a solution."

The male opposed from him leaned back and waited for Neji to continue. The Hyuga head pulled out a scroll and presented it to Kiba. "This is a contract that specifies all relevant aspects for cross-border marriage. It has to be passed by the Clan council as well as the village council."

"I don't have a seat in either of those." Kiba took the scroll reluctantly. He was already demotivated by the amount of pages.

"I realize that. And you should not concern yourself with the village council, however your mother, as the current Inuzuka Clan head could vote for the new law to pass."

A deep groan left Kiba's mouth, "I'll have to get my mother to sign this? As in talk to her and convince her and stuff?"

Neji shook his head, "Of course not, only if you want to marry Karui."

Kiba glared at him.

"There would be another matter." Neji continued.

"Oh, joy:" Kiba muttered sarcastically under his breath.

He was ignored. "This contract also has to be accepted by the other Hidden Villages. Hinata proposed that you be the one to accompany her and Hanabi to Kumo."

"Why?"

"Because you are in a relationship with a Kumo kunoichi and if the Raikage sees that he will profit from this law he will be more willing to agree to it."

"So not only do I have to talk to my scary-as-hell mother, but I also have to ask the Raikage for permission to marry my girlfriend?" Kiba rubbed his eyes in annoyance. "The things I do for this woman."

His interlocutor chuckled lowly.

"Tell Hinata that I'm in."

"I appreciate it Kiba. Naruto will come back to you with the details."

…

"Don't make me." Naruto whined as he tried to pull his blanket back. "Just give me a few more minutes."

Hinata let go of the blanket huffing in minor frustration. She pulled back the curtains instead and let the sunlight filter in the room.

"No! Why would you do this to me?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes groggily. The sunlight shimmed in his golden hair and Hinata blushed at the sight of his bare muscular chest.

"It's already ten o'clock, Naruto." She avoided looking at him because she didn't need another scarlet blush to plague her and moved again to pull on the blanket. "You have to go to the office."

"No I don't. I left a shadow clone there!" He complained and watched her trough half lidded eyes. To his major annoyance Hinata was already fully dressed. She also had the beautiful dark hair he loved to play with, put up in a high ponytail. It did have its perks, because that way Naruto got a good look at her slender neck.

Hinata was a little indignant at his attitude regarding his office work for the past few days.

Naruto couldn't help the smirk that crawled up his face and her disapproving pout. She was just too cute and he absolutely refused to spend any more time apart from her than absolutely necessary. He didn't want to think about the time when she would be gone. He was used to waking up next to her, he was used to being able to hold her close in his sleep while breathing in her sweet scent of strawberries and vanilla. He couldn't imagine coming home to an empty apartment without being welcomed by the delicious smell of her homemade cooking and by a warm chaste kiss. It was simply her presence in his life that made him feel at home.

His hand circled her wrist in a surprise attack and Hinata found herself staring up at two deep blue eyes. "N-Naruto, we really can't s-stay in bed, we…"

He drowned the rest of her sentence with his lips. His strong hands pulled out the hair tie and her waterfall of darkness framed her beautiful face. He dragged his hands down and smoothed down her sides and they slipped under her blouse.

Hinata moaned quietly. "N-Naru-Naruto, we really can't…"

His lips caressed her neck and he nuzzled his nose in her shimmering blue hair. In his opinion she didn't sound like she was complaining much. "Can't you just stay in bed for a little while longer?"

Her long slender fingers massaged his skull. "Naruto, is something wrong?"

"I don't want you to leave." He complained.

She smiled down at his face hidden under her chin sadly; she didn't want to leave either. The thought of being away from Naruto for so long, made her want to cry. She loved him so much, he was always there when she needed him and truthfully she was afraid of that trip. There was so much pressure weighting down on her and one single mistake could not only cost two people their happiness but also cause a rift between the villages. If it was up to her she would have wanted him to be with her. But he was the Hokage and his first priority had to be the village and not her insecurities.

Hinata felt his hold on her tighten and hugged him back. "I'll miss you."

Naruto's deep blue eyes captured her eyes and he pulled her in for a kiss. He hated that he was going to have to let her go. And that there was nothing he could do to keep her here. Sure it was only a diplomatic journey but he wouldn't be able to protect her. When she was with him he could make sure that she was safe and sound.

Thoughts of lonely days and nights without her plagued his mind. She was always there for him and he knew that if something happened he could count on her support. His insecurities were always pouring out to her and she lifted him up when he was feeling down. He, who had no one to care for him for so long and had only himself to depend on, had become so very depending on this woman.

"Why can't I visit you? At least from time to time." He asked as his fingers traced over the tender spot behind her left ear where he had marked her with his Hiraishin seal.

She trembled at the feel of his fingertips. "Y-you have to stay in Konoha. I'm sorry but I don't want you to use so much Chakra on this. You are the Hokage, you have responsibilities here."

"I have enough Chakra to travel all over the world with ten clones every day!" He bragged jokingly.

Hinata had hoped that their argument had been resolved. "I'm sorry, but you just can't."

He was silent for a few moments. "Hey Hinata you said that you would always be my best friend and if I had trouble with my girlfriend I could always talk to you as my friend, right?"

Hinata eyed him suspiciously. "Yes."

"So, can I talk to you as my best friend? Not my girlfriend?"

Hinata nodded in surprise. At this his face lit up.

"Alright, so you see, my girlfriend is going to leave for a very long time." He sat up and his eyes turned from playful to serious. "And it feels like she doesn't want me there at all. I'm always trying to come up with ways we can meet but she doesn't want to see me at all."

Shocked she sat in bed, her head was spinning. Hinata had no idea that he saw it that way, she hadn't meant to hurt him, never.

"I'm sure she doesn't mean it like that, Naruto." She started to tell him quietly. "She's just trying to look out for you in her own way. It's not only a about your chakra but what if shinobi from another country see you together? It may cause an international conflict if the Hokage is seen in another country without permission. It could be viewed as an act of war. You have to consider your position more. Naruto, you are no longer a normal shinobi." She hesitated at the next part, but maybe this was how they could communicate with each other in complete honesty. "Also it's not wise to let people see that you care about her especially. An enemy could use this knowledge against you. I'm sure your girlfriend doesn't want to be leverage against you. Maybe she just doesn't want to make you weak."

Bewildered his blue eyes widen. He was glad that they could talk like this, only now he understood her completely. It had never occurred to him she could be afraid of being his weakness when all she ever did was give him strength. Also he didn't particular like her trail of thoughts; he didn't want her to think she could be anything but his support. He needed to talk to her about this, but maybe not now. He needed to think about what he would say to make her see, that she was his strength and never his weakness.

Despite all of that, it had helped him to see her point of view. "I'm glad you're my best friend." He smirked and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "Man I hope my girlfriend cooked something. She really is the best cook."

Hinata laughed, glad that he had rid them of their tension. "I take it you're hungry?"

"Yes! Food!" He grabbed her but stopped before he kissed her. "Wait, are you my girlfriend again?"

She nodded and he didn't hold back to pull her into a passionate kiss. "Now should I make breakfast?" She attempted to wiggle out from under him.

"Initially that's what I thought, but I rather have you here in bed. So I'll handle breakfast." The one kiss had not be enough for him.

Hinata rolled her eyes when her boyfriend brought his hands up to form a hand-sign that she knew all too well.

"Breakfast in bed for two please." Naruto ordered smugly from his Clone.

"I don't see why I should make breakfast when you get to snuggle in bed with Hinata." The Clone complained. "Why don't you make us breakfast?"

Naruto was about to retort when Hinata spoke up. "Naruto you really shouldn't use your chakra for unimportant tasks like this. I'll just…"

"I'm on my way!" The Clone hurried out the door, not wanting his Hinata to have to work.

"Well, aren't you a smart one!" Naruto rolled to his side and peered down at his innocent little girlfriend.

"Naruto I know you have an amazing amount of chakra, but you shouldn't…"

"Hinata please stop worrying about something like that. You of all people should know just how much chakra I have. If you doubt me you can always just use your Byakugan."

She turned to him and smiled softly, "Sorry for annoying you. I just don't want you to overdo it. You have the tendency of wanting to do all by yourself because you hate burdening people."

He quirked up an eyebrow, "Well, doesn't that sound suspiciously like someone we know?"

Hinata blushed aware that they both shared that very same tendency.

Naruto brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Hinata inched closer to him and he stroke down her side.

"Two months is a long time!"

"Maybe it won't take that long." She leaned her head against his chest hoping she was right.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and tell me what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to everyone for reviewing.**

** no-maybee-okay: Thanks, I will once a week.**

** lyan king (guest): Thank you.**

** Chewie Cookies: A little more fluff, before the real thing starts.**

** kavya1506: I love that part too. Thanks again.**

** Redsox31: Shikatema in this one... but it's not very much I'm afraid. If you have an idea for their future interaction, let me know.**

** Arymed: No tissue yet in this one. Thanks for reviewing.**

** chrysant: I kind of love Kiba and Karui. I just think that's how they would be if they were in a happy relationship... Don't know if their in charakter, but I'll stick with it. Things will go down in the next chapter.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

**-9-**

"I might have to leave for Suna for a while."

Temari looked up from her plate to shoot a questioning look at Shikamaru.

He shrugged,. "Hinata needs her sister to negotiate something and they picked me as her temporary replacement. It's troublesome."

"Why of all people would they pick you?" The blonde asked incredulously thinking of the laziness that was a constant in his life. Despite her best effort, one might add.

"Apparently because of you." There was no point in lying since she was going to figure something out anyway. Shikamaru still calculated that he could keep her from finding out too much.

"I don't see how this makes a lot of sense." She frowned. "There is something you're not telling me."

"Yes, but I am unable to tell you, I'm afraid." He retorted amused at her huffed attitude.

"A village secret?"

"Something like that."

"You're not going to tell me?"

"No."

Temari sighed, she wasn't going to force it out of him, even though she might could have. But this was a village secret and not his personal life, so she wouldn't pry.

"How long will you be gone?" She enquired casually.

"Depends, Hinata guessed something in between one and two months."

Her green eyes widen. "That long?"

"Presumably." He shrugged again.

Temari kept herself from interrogating him more, but two months were a long time. It wasn't the first time Shikamaru and her were apart for that long. The last time they had been apart for a considerate amount of time however, had been years ago. Since she had moved to Konoha, they had seen each other almost every day. Shikamaru didn't take a lot of mission, since his positions as Clan Head and Leading Advisor of the Hokage required his presence in the village.

"What? You'll miss me?" Grinning Shikamaru took his plate and set it in the sink.

She snorted in annoyance "Yeah, right. I think maybe some time apart will ignite the light again."

"Excuse me? Are you implying that we miss the spark?" Shikamaru crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes on her.

Temari smirked careful not to let him see her mischief when she bit her inner lip and put her plate down to join his in the sink.

"Temari?" His broad chest hit her back and he placed his hands on either side to cage her against the kitchen counter.

She really had to keep herself from laughing. He was way too riled up at her suggestion, even though he should know perfectly well that they were not lacking in the spark department.

Arranging her face carefully she turned around to meet his burning gaze, that definitely sparked the fire in her.

"Yes Shikamaru?"

"Would you like to repeat what you just said?"

"Depends… Would you like to prove me wrong?"

Shikamaru growled and picked her up; Temari's legs wrapped themselves around his torso in reflex. Pleased with herself Temari leaned down to kiss him. Their eyes met and she smiled. "You know, I think I really am going to miss you."

"You better and I will show you just how much." In one quick motion he rearranged their position and threw her over his shoulder.

Temari shrieked in laughter and the butterflies in her belly danced anew.

…

"That's it for today. I do hope you have a nice weekend." Choji said before a chorus of chair scratching and chatter drowned out his voice.

"Bye, Chouji-sensei!"

Chouji waved at the students who left the classroom and started to pack his things as well. He was supposed to meet Ino in 15 minutes in front of the Academy so he had to hurry.

"Hello Chouji-san." Chouji stopped on his way to the teacher's lounge and waited for one of his colleagues to catch up.

Arina was the only other academy instructor close to his age and they got along well. He liked the calm woman who just like him had a few pounds more on her body than what was considered optimal. Admittedly she had a lot less than him and she hid it well. Basically she was what some people would call a curvaceous woman, only not in the way Ino was. Chouji thought Arina was a beautiful woman, but no one could even get close to Ino in his mind.

She pulled back her brown hair with pink highlights and asked. "How was it today?"

"Well, they were more giddy than usual. The exams are coming up and most of them are nervous, it's understandable."

Arina nodded and together they chatted about their students until Chouji excused himself to meet Ino.

Arina grinned. "Missing your girlfriend much?"

He laughed and pushed the door open to let Arina get out first. "You know it."

Ino tapped her foot against the cold stone. She didn't like to wait. Nevertheless if it was Chouji she could forgive him, he was almost never late. If he was late, he had a good reason. Her beautiful rosy lips formed a content smile. A few years ago she wouldn't have thought that she'd find her soulmate in her teammate and best friend. Ino was aware that she had been stupidly shallow when she was younger. That was probably the reason it had taken her long to realize that she loved him. Never in her life had she been happier than right now. Chouji was simply perfect. He was always attentive and he was always there.

Her face lit up when she spotted her boyfriend, her feet set off in his direction. She stopped death when another woman appeared in her field of vision. Much to her dismay the woman was rather pretty. Seeing his large smiling face directed at this woman, his carefree attitude and his happy demeanor, made her stomach drop.

"Chouji!" Ino waved at him enthusiastically and sprinted over to him, very determined not to let this woman spent any more time with him. She jumped into his arms and kissed him.

As he let her down Ino latched onto his arm. And her eyes narrowed at the woman standing beside him. She brightened up only seconds later to make sure the woman did not catch on.

"I'm Ino, Chouji's girlfriend." She extended her arm and Arina shook her hand. The woman couldn't possible have overheard her emphasis on 'girlfriend'.

"I'm Arina. I'm also a teacher. Chouji and I work together"

"Really? Chouji why didn't you mention her?"

Chouji was momentarily confused, he never mention any of the teachers expect for Iruka. He looked a little unsure at Ino whose smile was unusually sweet and somehow he had a bad feeling about it.

"What do you teach?" Ino kept her smile plastered on her face. She really disliked the woman. How come that her boyfriend was working with an attractive woman and failed to mention it to her?

Of course it wasn't logical to be jealous but Ino had always been a little over-passionate. And this woman ticked her off.

"Ah, you know the general basics. Theory mostly, the chakra system and history, stuff like that." Arina smiled. She could understand why Chouji was so crazy for Ino. The blond was beautiful and quite in love with him. Arina almost laughed at her poorly hidden seething jealousy. Chouji didn't seem to catch on yet, though.

"Oh, I'm afraid I already forgot all of that stuff. I guess I just never thought of it as important." Ino said through clenched teeth, highly irked by the way Arina was amused of her behavior.

"Hey, that stuff is very important!" Chouji defended his colleague and Arina almost cringed. That was not the smartest move he could have made.

"So you're taking her side?" Ino snapped at him. She took a step back and crossed her arms, with blue eyes looking at him accusingly.

"What?" Chouji scratched his head. What sides? There were no sides.

In an attempt to save the situation Arina spoke up. "Well, Chouji-san you'll have to admit that the basics are pretty boring."

"Absolutely not!" He turned to her and smiled. "I think that you have a knack of making your lessons very interesting."

Arina beamed brightly. "You really think so?"

"Sure, I really wish I had you as a teacher when I was in the academy."

"Is that so?" Ino hissed. "Great then why don't you just eat alone or with her! I don't care!"

She turned on her heels and stormed away furiously.

"Well, that escalated quickly." Arina sighed.

"What in the world was that all about?" Confused Chouji stared in the direction Ino had stamped off in.

"Chouji-san, you might wanna go after her!"

"Right!" Chouji scurried away and Arina laughed heartily. She for her part already liked Ino.

Ino slammed her door to her apartment shut and breathed heavily. If Chouji liked that stupid oh-so-great-teacher so much then maybe he should just be with her. How dare they flirt so shamelessly in front of her! She stomped into her room and let yet another door shut hardly. Seriously she needed something to let her frustration out on. Ino fell down on her bed and screamed into her pillow.

She heard the door open and regretted that Chouji had a key to her apartment. Ino sat up in her bed and ran her fingers through her hair to comb her undoubtedly disheveled hair. She might be mad at him, but she didn't want to look disgusting in front of him.

"Ino?" Carefully Chouji stuck his head through the door of her bedroom. He gulped as he saw her stone-cold face framed by strand of her hair that were usually smoothed back in her pony-tail.

"What do you want?" Her voice matched her expression.

"What happened? I really don't understand why you're so mad." He got in and stood in the middle of the room awkwardly. He didn't dare to sit down next to her on the bed since she was already mad.

Her irritation came back and she felt the anger dwell up again. "So you don't understand, huh? I come to pick you up from work so we can go out and you go and flirt with your dumb co-worker. A woman who, I might mention, works with you every day. And you never even told me about her. And she just has to be pretty, doesn't she?"

"Wait Ino, What? I really don't get what you are saying. Don't tell me… - Are you jealous?" Chouji stared at her in disbelief. That was completely ridiculous. Ino was the one who turned every male's head when she walked by. She could literally have any guy she wanted to. If anyone had a reason to be jealous it should be him. She couldn't seriously think that there was something between him and Arina?

Ino had stopped ranting and bit out. "So what? I have every right to be."

Chouji shook his head; this was certainly not something he thought he ever had to deal with.

"Ino you know that this is laughable, right?" He finally asked.

"And why would that be?" She snapped at him.

"Because you really have no reason to be jealous! Arina and I are only colleagues. She's married you know?"

Ino bit her lip, that woman was married? Maybe there was a slight possibility that she had overreacted.

"Besides I'm not interested in anyone but you! I mean you are basically perfect." He stepped closer and smiled when she didn't step back but looked rather pleased. "You are definitely the most beautiful woman I have ever met. And you're smart and generous and loyal to your friends. Ino, do you honestly think that I would cheat on you?"

"Of course not, but there's nothing keeping you from falling in love with somebody else." She said quietly and stepped into his embrace. "I know that I can be challenging and I'm hard to deal with. And impatient and I have those stupid mood-swings that I always take out on you."

"Well, not all of your mood-swings are bad. I do remember some of them turning out rather pleasant." Chouji grinned at her blush. "I love you, for who you are, Ino. Mood-swings and all."

"I love you too. Sorry I lashed out on you and her that much."

Chouji shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Now can we please go and eat?"

"How about we cook something instead?" Ino asked.

"Great, let's do that."

…

"I can't believe I have never seen your office. It's so big." Sakura took in the bright room with the huge window front and the wooden desk.

Hanabi nodded and offered Sakura green tea. Primarily she and Sakura didn't get along too well, but somehow being in Suna together had made them friends. Sakura was on friendly terms with her colleagues in the hospital but she didn't have any particular good friends. By now she had learned that Hanabi was just Hanabi and knew how to take her. Their early experiences were long since forgotten.

"Ah, I'm feeling so much better since I'm in Suna." Sakura sighed and sunk deeper in the comfortable couch.

Hanabi's interest was sparked. While she didn't know the exact reason Sakura came to Suna she did know that Hinata had been worried about her and she guessed that it had something to do with Sasuke Uchia. Maybe his death had hit her hard? Sakura's relationship with him was not something she could understand. And like so often her curiosity won the internal battle of 'Is-it-appropriate-to ask.

"Can I ask you something? You can just say if you don't want to answer it or if it's inappropriate."

Calculating Sakura's eyes met with Hanabi's. It sounded kind of dangerous, if she took into account that the one asking it was Hanabi. "Sure ask what you want."

"Why do you love Sasuke?"

The question caught Sakura completely by surprise and she sputtered. "What are you asking that for?"

"I'm just wondering."

The pinkette didn't want to answer or even think about Sasuke but somehow when she thought about him, it didn't hurt has bad as it used to. "Well, I guess in the beginning it was because he was cool and it attracted me, but later… He was always lonely and by himself, I wanted to make him smile and I wanted him to be happy… – with me." She added after a little pause. "I felt like we had a special connection."

"You could have done all that as his friend, but why did you want to be his lover?"

"What I felt for him and the desperation that I felt it with… It was beyond the feeling of friendship." Sakura said in a small voice.

"But why did you love him for so long? Why did you fall for him?" Hanabi wouldn't leave it alone.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. I mean can people really point out why they fall for one another?"

"Mmhh, maybe not." Hanabi hummed, she poured some more tea and leaned back. "You know I once asked Hinata why she loved Naruto… If I hadn't stopped her, she'd still be naming reasons." Silver eyes watched the woman opposed from her attentively.

"I…I guess. I mean, it's different for anybody." Sakura answered unsure.

The brunette nodded again. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"I'm afraid I don't. But go ahead anyway."

Hanabi laughed soundlessly. "Let's assume I understand why you fell in love with him and why you kept holding on even after he left. I guess I can understand that… to a certain point. But after that point I think I lose your reasoning at one point. I think that maybe it was no longer love, that kept you locked to him but fear. It made you keep believing you loved him."

Ostensibly Sakura's confused look was enough to make Hanabi elaborate. "Let me put it this way… Ah, I know. It's like anchor." Quite pleased with her metaphor she continued. "Your love for him was an anchor. It was safe because it kept you from drifting around without a purpose, it kept you from floating aimlessly. And somewhere inside of you, you were afraid to let go of that anchor. Because once you let go of the anchor you won't know what will happen or where you will end up. You're then going to drift and it's scary. Whatever you experienced with Sasuke must have left a scar on you, somewhere. Maybe because he was your first love and the way it ended, the way he left you, the way he trampled on your feelings – all of this keeps you from freeing yourself for another love. You don't know who your next anchor will be and you're afraid it'll end like the first time. Holding on to Sasuke, even if it was painful, it made you feel safe. At the very least you know what to expect." Halfway through her explanation Hanabi started to worry if she was even making sense.

Open mouthed the pinkette looked at Hanabi. She wasn't sure if it was crazy or spot on. She had never seen it like that, but she had always held onto Sasuke. His words of gratitude when he had left her on that bench, had always been a lingering hope for her, and even after he had tried to kill her, she couldn't bring herself to give up on him. – Because she had been afraid that if she allowed herself to be free to fall in love again, it would end the same way? Was it really like that?

"I'm not sure that's right, but strangely it does make sense." Sakura put her tea cup down. "Do you think I'll be able to get rid of my anchor?"

"I think you already have." Hanabi smiled and Sakura smiled back at her. "By the way, what was the commotion yesterday about? I heard you punched Kankuro through a wall."

Sakura snorted annoyed. "That guy, he dumped that poor girl in the middle of the street, in front of everyone! He's such a bastard, and impolite and childish and… Gosh I could spent the whole day complaining about that guy!"

She was so busy going into great detail about all his bad traits that she overlooked that interested smirk that crossed Hanabi's face. "The whole day, huh?"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, it's just that I haven't seen him with a girl lately."

"I guess she did say something about him not contacting her for weeks." Sakura mused out loud, trying to remember the bits and pieces she could made out in between the woman's sobs.

…

Hinata made her way through the already dark streets of Konoha. The preparations were finished and they could leave any time now. Her head was spinning from all the things she had to take into account. Naruto was still in his office, and their small apartment was empty.

Hinata was left alone with her thoughts. She went over the plan in her head, she planned out her speeches and what to tell who, but still Hinata knew that nothing could guarantee their success.

The young woman allowed herself to sink into the big blue cotton sheets of the bed and rested her back against the headboard. Her throat restricted and she found it hard to breath. Somehow it was too much; she hadn't allowed it to get to her for the past weeks.

All of this reminded her of the time when she tried to change her Clan, only this time it was ten times more complex. She brought her knees to her chest and tried to even out her breathing. But she couldn't help the first sob, tears gathered in her eyes and with her next sob they started to fall.

She had lost count of the time she had spent wailing in her self-pity and when she heard the door open, she desperately tried to wipe her tears.

"Hinata? I'm home."

She barely heard him over the sound of her pathetic breakdown. Frantically she attempted to get herself under control, but she only succeeded in making it worse.

"Hinata?" Naruto's footsteps approached the door.

After he saw the state she was in, he was in front of her in a matter of seconds. "What's wrong? Are you hurting somewhere? 'Nata talk to me, what happened?" He caught her trembling hand and crushed her body close to his. "Please tell me what's wrong." His voice was coated in desperation and worry.

When he had seen her like this, he couldn't help a million thoughts and horror scenarios running through his head.

"I c-ca-can't do t-this." She forced out and hiccupped. She couldn't restrain her erratic breathing and in between her sobs she had trouble speaking.

"Relax, Hinata. Calm down and then tell me what happened." Naruto forced his urge to make her stop down. After he had understood that she wasn't hurt, giving her the time to calm herself was considerably easier.

So he resorted to the only comfort he could give her. He pulled her in his lap and took the position against the headboard. His hands caressed her hair and down her back while he let her cry in his chest and whispered soothing words in her ears.

With deep shuddering breaths Hinata finally calmed down by concentrating on the pleasant feeling of Naruto's hands in her hair and on her back. "S-Sorry."

"You don't have anything to apologize for." Naruto told her frowning.

"S-Still, I shouldn't have let myself go like that. Y-You were worrying o-over nothing." She insisted and leaned her head against his chest.

"Tell me why you were crying." He asked softly.

"I-It's just that this is all so much." She whispered. "I don't want to screw this up. And what if I can't do this?"

Naruto nuzzled her hair. "Hinata, I know this is a lot of pressure. And I'm sorry that you have to bear most of it. But I know that if someone can do this then it's you."

Hinata smiled sadly. "I don't want to disappoint anyone and it feels like I can't breathe. I'm so afraid of messing up, it…" She was fighting tears again and her breathing turned uneven.

"Hey, hey! Hinata look at me." His blue eyes forced her to focus on nothing but him. She relaxed in the strong hold his gaze had on her. "You are not doing this alone! Hanabi will be there with you and Kiba too. Shikamaru and Gaara are convincing the Suna council. Neji and your father will take care of the Hyuga council and I will help them with the village council. You are not alone in this and if you ever feel unsure I will always be there!"

"I don't want to go without you. I don't want to be apart for so long. I can't do this without you. I need you." She cried in his chest and he hugged her body painfully close.

Naruto's heart had jumped wildly at her words. Hinata was still crying but he couldn't help the small smile, hearing her say that she needed him made his whole body tingle and his heart soar. He had somehow thought that he was the only one who was going crazy over this.

"I know. It sucks. I don't want to be apart from you either." He mumbled in her hair. "I hate that you'll be gone tomorrow."

…

"I could get used to this way of traveling." Kiba grinned brightly and stretched his limbs. "You know this Hiraishin sure feels like getting caught in a whirl storm."

Hinata nodded and tried to get out of Naruto's steel grip on her waist.

"So when will you be leaving?" Shikamaru set down his bag and looked at Hanabi, seeing as Hinata was currently busy.

"I think we should be leaving tomorrow." Hanabi told him.

Shikamaru agreed silently and observed the interaction between Hinata's sister and Temari's brother. He had to admit that they were incredible discrete. If he hadn't known they were dating, there was no way he would have noticed the very few, unobtrusive glances between them. Or the casual brushes when they walked. Or even their distance that was always appropriate, yet strangely intimate. Personally he had thought at first that there were such a strange couple but after meeting them he had to admit they looked happy and content.

"Hey, Akamaru has to go out. We'll take a walk around. Is that a problem?" Kiba asked.

"I'll send one of my shinobi with you. Just in case." Gaara told him and sent for Matsuri so she could meet Kiba downstairs.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked over Hinata's shoulder.

"Beats me. I told her to come" Hanabi shrugged. "Hey Shikamaru, you want me to show you around?"

…

"I bet you'll miss me so much. I can totally tell you have the hot's for me." Kankuro allowed a smug grin on his face.

Sakura snorted and turned back to finish her paperwork so that she could finally go and meet Hinata and Naruto. Kankuro leaned over the desk and peered over to see her scribble down something.

"Is it your plan to annoy me by leaning so close to me? Or can't you just get enough of me?" Sakura asked while keeping her voice as neutral as possible. But her heart was beating nervously and she fought to keep her blush down.

For a second his dark chocolate eyes met hers with her serious expression. "You smell really good."

"W-What?" She spluttered out. "You pervert."

"Just kidding, don't get your panties in a bunch." Kankuro laughed loudly and put his hands behind his head.

Sakura bit her tongue and turned back to her paperwork, ignoring the sting.

"Well, I will miss you."

Her head shot up, eyes wide. "You will?"

"Sure I mean who wouldn't miss being used as a punching bag the whole day. I'll definitely miss getting yelled at for every single thing I do." He rolled his eyes.

Every time he played with her like that the sting got worse. But once again Sakura forced the pain down.

"Are you done or what?"

Through clenched teeth she pressed out. "No one is forcing you to be here."

"Sakura-san!" A deep voice drew their attention to the right, where a young man waved at Sakura to come over.

He showed her a paper on his clipboard and she smiled while she started to scan it. The she only laughed friendly at him and gestured for him to look at something.

Kankuro gritted his jaw at their close proximity. With narrowed eyes he watched her smooth a pink lock behind her ear and watches as her green sparkling eyes turn to that guy. With long strikes he made his way over to them in haste once he realized that her hand was on its way to rest on his underdeveloped biceps. He barely made it in time to intercept her touching that guy.

"Can I help you?" Impatiently Sakura turned to him.

"Yes! We have to go!" He shot a quick glare at the male nurse and the poor man scurried away.

"What the hell, Kankuro?"

"You can thank me later for saving you from that creep."

"I won't because I did not ask nor did I want your saving. I quite like him." Sakura said. Honestly she didn't know the man too well, but the way Kankuro behaved rubbed her the wrong way.

…

"Shikamaru is getting unpacking in the guest room and Naruto is still hogging Hinata. They're still busy 'seeing each other off'. And I don't think Hinata will get away soon."

Hanabi informed Gaara as and found her way on his lap. She had straddled him and leaned her forehead against his. Then she breathed deeply.

"Rough day?" Gaara asked amused.

"More like anticipation of what is about to come." She left a lingering kiss on his lips. "I really don't want to go."

"I don't want you to leave, either." Sea green eyes locked with silver ones and a smile played on his lips. "I have something for you."

Gaara reached in the drawer next to her and pulled out a tiny glass jar on a black string. Hanabi observed it carefully in her hands and her eyes sparkled at the sight of a single grain of sand in the thin glass.

"Remember that grain?" He asked.

She tilted her head curiously. "I'm afraid I don't remember any specific piece of sand in your whole collection of grains."

"Remember when we were outside to picnic and this one flew in my eyes?"

"You kept it?" She brought her hand to her mouth and stared at him in astonishment.

"It made you laugh." He said simply.

Her breathing stopped for a second as she looked into his serious eyes. "I love you, Gaara."

Every time she said that his heart missed a beat. "I love you too."

"Will you put it on for me?" Hanabi asked.

Gaara took the necklace from her dainty hands and carefully put it around her neck. His fingers grazed her throat as he brushed her dark hair back. He let the soft locks spill through his rough fingers.

"I'll miss you." He brushed her lips with his.

…

"Suna is very beautiful." Kiba remarked nonchalantly to the young woman next to him who kept staring at Akamaru with terrified eyes.

Matsuri kept her eyes fixated on the giant dog and nodded fearful. Kiba sighed and finally decided to give it up, after his third try to make light conversation had gone down the drain. He even kept Akamaru close to his other side and told the dog to keep away from the brunette.

Kiba scrunched his nose when a familiar smell reached him. Akamaru barked and waved his tail in excitement, causing the brunette next to him to flinch. "Go, buddy. Let's find Sakura."

A pink blur had just passed the corner and Akamaru took off happily with Kiba in tail. "Sakura!" His deep voice roared and the woman turned in surprise only to hit the ground hard when Akamaru jumped on her.

"Kiba! Get your dog under control." Sakura laughed as she tried to pry the big white dog off of her.

Kiba grinned brightly as he lifted her off the ground and she dusted herself off. "How are you, Kiba?"

"Great." He frowned. "How are you? You look like you've been crying."

"I'm fine. I just had a rough shift at the hospital." She lied but she could already tell that he didn't believe her.

"Forget it. Doesn't really matter." She turned her head to the silent Matsuri. "It's fine Matsuri. I'll take them back."

Silently they walked back. Kiba secretly wondered what was wrong with her. He and Sakura weren't really close but they were still friends. Apart from that he was not looking forwards to Naruto's reaction at Sakura's swollen eyes. It was bound to trigger some bad memories for him. He really hoped it had nothing to do with Sasuke.

"Is this about Sasuke?" He asked cautiously.

"What? No!" Sakura looked at him stunned. "It has nothing to do with him. Don't worry."

They fell back into silence until Sakura spoke up. Her voice was so quite he almost missed her. "Do you think I'm not feminine enough to be attractive?"

Kiba blinked a few times, and then he shrugged. "I don't think feminine has much to do with this. I mean whether or not I'm attracted to a woman doesn't have anything to do with how much her nails mean to her. Personally I think you're pretty hot."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Kiba."

"There you are!" Kankuro marched over to them, he had been looking for Sakura for quite some time now. The he measured Kiba with cold eyes.

Kiba lifted an eyebrow at this, wondering if he was the reason Sakura was depressed. Naruto had mentioned that there was something going on with them.

"Kankuro, what do you want?"

Kiba's suspicions were confirmed. Sakura went rigid and her eyes threw knives at Kankuro.

"We have to talk." He stemmed his hands in his sides and fixed his eyes on the small woman.

"I have nothing to talk to you about." She sneered at him.

Kiba exchanged a look with Akamaru who whimpered in discomfort and they backed away slowly. Luckily they were already close to the Kazekage building.

"Yes I think we have and we can either do this the civilized way or I will drag you inside?" His dark eyes blasted with suppressed anger.

"I do wonder how you would manage that!"

"Sakura please, I'll leave tomorrow. I really don't want to leave while we fight." Distressed he ran his hand through his hair and looked at her pleadingly.

Sakura bit her tongue to keep herself from lashing out at him. She wanted to punch him, scream at him and hurt him but most of all she wanted to cry and wallow in self-pity.

"Fine."

He winced at her ice cold tone. They made their way into the building and she let him in her apartment after having refused a talk in his room.

"What do you want?" She tapped her foot hard against the white tiles clearly pissed off.

"Sakura, would you look at me?"

"I don't see any reason to."

"Listen. I am sorry I was out of line and I didn't mean it." He took a step closer to her and her green eyes darted to him.

"Whatever. It's not like I care what you think about me." She gulped down the lump in her throat that dared her to lose it and start crying.

"I didn't want to hurt you. Honestly I am sorry." He said helplessly. Usually he was very good with women but Sakura was different. She was special to him and he regretted saying idiotic lies like he just did. He had just been so pissed because she was flirting with that male nurse.

"Sakura, will you please just punch me?"

She almost lost her balance there. "What?"

"Just do it, if it means you'll stop with this. Please, I am very sorry."

Sakura laughed bitterly, "You shouldn't apologize. You were just stating your opinion after all."

"Sakura that isn't true." The next step brought him right in front of her. "I was just pissed off. I don't think you're not attractive."

"Well, that's funny, since you made it more than clear that my body resembles more of a teenage boy than a woman. You can stop pretending to care whether I'm mad or not. Just go!" She pushed him away and stormed to her room.

"No! - Wait!" Kankuro grabbed her wrist and spun her around barely avoiding her punch. "I didn't mean that! I think you're actually pretty hot. Happy now?"

Taken aback she stared at him. "Right. And I'm supposed to believe that."

"I don't care if you believe it or not it's the truth." He sighed audibly. "Look I'll be leaving tomorrow anyway. How about you stay mad at me while I'm gone and when I'm back, I'll make it up to you?"

She crossed her arms. "How do you plan to make it up to me?"

"How about dinner?" He offered.

"You'll pay?"

"Of course I'll pay! That's the whole point to it." He rolled his eyes and made his way to the door.

"I'll pick the place and I will order the most expensive dish on the menu."

"Great, it's a date then. I'll be looking forward to it." He left and Sakura raced after him and tore the door open.

"It's not a date!" She yelled after him and closed the door.

"It's a date!" She squealed happily and bounced towards the kitchen.

…

"N-Naruto you really have to let go." Hinata moaned softly and tried to pry herself away from him, but didn't put too much enthusiasm behind it. Naruto smiled against the soft skin of her neck. His hard chest pressed against her back and she relaxed herself against him as she ran her fingers up and down his lower arm.

"When will you be leaving?"

"Sometime tomorrow and I promise to write as much as I can." She turned to face him. "I love you."

"I love you too. Please promise that you'll be careful and avoid any and all dangerous situations."

"I promise but you'll have to promise to do, too."

"I promise." He pulled her in a deep kiss and she moaned as he pressed her curvaceous figure up against his tall muscular body.

"I will miss you." He said seriously and with one last smile he disappeared.

Hinata bit her lip, she was going to miss him so bad, but she couldn't allow herself to give in to her sadness and beg him no to leave.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. **

**By the way if you want to read about your favorite couples more, give me a suggestion.**

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